Drinking water supply disrupted in rain-hit Bengaluru as pumping station near Cauvery gets flooded

Drinking water supply will remain shut for two days in parts of Bengaluru as the pumping station, which lifts water from the Cauvery river to the city, remains submerged at Mandya in Karnataka.

The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has warned of water supply disruption in several areas of the city for today and tomorrow.

“Around 50 areas of rain-hit Bengaluru will not receive drinking water for the next two days,” an official said.

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai visited the TK Halli Water Supply Unit in Mandya on Monday. Officials are currently draining the water from the pumping station.

The Board has arranged temporary tankers free of cost. These will be supplied to areas where water supply through taps has been suspended.

Meanwhile, heavy rain lashed Bengaluru again on Monday evening flooding roads that caused massive traffic jams.

Several lakes in the city were overflowing and stormwater drains were flooded, affecting the low-lying areas where water entered houses.

Authorities had to use rubber dinghies to ferry rescue people around and footage on social media showed tractors being used to transport travellers from the airport.

Bengaluru is the country’s Silicon City and home to companies such as Amazon, Flipkart and Wipro, all of which could hit due to the disruption.

The infrastructure development in the city has not kept pace with the expanding needs of the city and unplanned construction on the dried-up beds of lakes is leading to frequent flooding even after moderate rainfall, complain city companies.

The Outer Ring Road Companies Association (ORRCA), the umbrella group for the IT sector, advised employees to work from home while many schools and colleges were shut.

Around 50 areas of rain-hit Bengaluru will not receive drinking water for the next two days.

As parts of Bengaluru still remain inundated, two State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) teams have also been deployed to the affected places. A total of 30 areas have suffered damage from heavy rain in the last 24 hours.