Permanent drinking water for Bengaluru South district by December 2025: Deputy CM

Mandya: Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has said that the permanent drinking water supply project to taluks in Bengaluru South district would be completed by December 2025.

“The drinking water project has been taken up at a cost of Rs 540 crore. We had promised to supply drinking water to all taluks in Bengaluru South district during the Chennapatna bypolls and we are committed to honouring it,” the Deputy Chief Minister told reporters at Belakawadi in Malavalli taluk on Tuesday.

Shivakumar performed the ground-breaking ceremony for the project near Sattegala reservoir on Monday morning. The project envisages supply of drinking water to Ramanagara, Kanakapura, Channapatna and Magadi taluks in Bengaluru South district.

He pointed out that the project was launched during his earlier tenure as Water Resources Minister, and said that he had come to enquire about the delays it is currently experiencing.

“As much as 3.3 Tmcft of water is currently being supplied at a nominal cost. I have sought details from officials and representatives of the Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering, which is executing the project, about the reasons for delay,” he said.  

When asked if land belonging to farmers was being acquired for the project, the Deputy CM said: “Land belonging to farmers is being acquired based on need only. The Deputy Commissioner has been asked to provide good compensation to land-losing farmers who are co-operating for the project. This project will help increase the groundwater level and address the problem of water scarcity in the area.”

The project is set to help about 10.82 lakh people and about 9.03 lakh cattlehead in the district currently affected by scarcity of rainfall over the last several years.

About 220 cusecs of water will be supplied to Iggalur barrage from Sattegala reservoir across river Cauvery for 180 days, using gravity.

Of the total length of 25.40 km between Sattegala reservoir and Iggalur barrage, water will pass through a 12.05-km-long ‘D’ shaped tunnel, out of which the work on 11.33 km has been completed.

The diameter of the tunnel is 4 meters. Of the 13.35-km-long pipeline, work on 5.5 km has already been completed, the Deputy CM shared.

Water will be supplied to Mogenahalli tank through lift irrigation and further, it will be pumped to fill Kanva, Manchanbele and Y.G. Gudda reservoirs.  

The Deputy Chief Minister also reviewed tunnel work on the project along with former Member of Parliament D.K. Suresh, MLAs C.P. Yogeshwar and Kadalur Uday, and MLCs S. Ravi and Sudham