Bengaluru authority directs water board to plug leaks, fill lakes

The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) executive committee, chaired by Greater Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda on Thursday, issued a series of directives to civic agencies, with water management and traffic decongestion taking centre stage.

The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has been asked to prioritise the reduction of water leakages and work in close coordination with city corporations while executing its annual action plan. The committee noted that rainwater harvesting systems were malfunctioning in several locations, causing water to enter the sewerage network. In response, the water board has been instructed to launch a special drive to identify and correct these irregularities.

GBA chief M. Maheswar Rao said the board has also been told to collaborate with the corporations to replenish the city's lakes using water from the Cauvery Stage V project and treated water from sewage treatment plants.

On the safety front, the Fire and Emergency Services department presented a list of 55 locations where fire hydrant networks could be installed. The Minister directed the department to also evaluate the requirement for foam-based fire tenders. Separately, the corporations were asked to speed up the Suraksha 75 initiative aimed at reducing road accidents.

To ease congestion, the Minister ordered the shifting of 103 bus stands across the city and called for an action plan from the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) and other departments to improve first- and last-mile connectivity, promoting greater use of public transport. He also directed the completion of the walkway at Iblur Junction on the Outer Ring Road, one of the city's busiest intersections.

In a move to leverage existing infrastructure, Mr. Rao said CCTV cameras installed under the Safe City project could be repurposed for civic monitoring, such as detecting potholes and instances of garbage dumping.