Bosky Khanna By Express News Service BENGALURU: With monsoon playing truant and a severe water crisis plaguing residents of the city, the state government has decided to use treated water from the city’s lakes to meet local needs. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) and Minor Irrigation Department (MID) officials are encouraging the use of treated water in Bengaluru and other districts. They are also working on a policy decision on the same. They came to this decision after RDPR minister Krishna Byre Gowda recently tweeted: “Close to 100 lakes in Bengaluru urban, Bengaluru rural and Chikkaballapur district will be filled. "Good example of recycling and reusing water. Government of India has recommended to all states in June to follow Karnataka model of reusing water. Four years of efforts by Government and Rs 1,000 crore investment behind this water flowing into our lakes.” This idea also gains significance after Deputy Chief Minister Dr G Parameshwara had recently said that if the water level in KRS reservoir does not rise and there was no rain in the catchment areas, then Bengaluru will suffer a severe water crisis. He said this because 70 per cent of the city’s water comes from from the Cauvery River and the remaining 30 per cent from Kabini Dam. BBMP Commissioner Manjunatha Prasad said that there was no sewage in the 93 lakes under the BBMP and the water could be processed and used to meet citizens’ needs. Also, work on treating water in the diverted sewage lines was underway. Apart from this, the Minor Irrigation Department has also been sending treated sewage water downstream to lakes in Kolar and Chikkaballapura. “The minister is referring to this project also. The MID is working on more such projects to meet the needs of people downstream, instead of letting all untreated water flow into the Dakshni Pinakini river,” an MID official said. RDPR Principal Secretary L K Ateeq said that the idea was the 100 per cent treatment of sewage water by 2020. The construction of sewage treatment plants by the BWSSB is underway. Earlier wastewater used to flow into the valleys, but now it is being treated, pumped and supplied to dried-up lakes. Meanwhile, the BWSSB has also been asked to plug leakages. Only 30 per cent of the problem has been addressed so far.

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