MP, MLAs, MUDA Chairman write to CM seeking funds for MWSSB on the lines of BWSSB

Mysuru:  Does the city of Mysuru require an exclusive Mysuru Water Supply and Sewerage Board (MWSSB) on the lines of Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB)? Yes, feel MP Pratap Simha, MLAs G.T. Devegowda and L. Nagendra. Joining the chorus is Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) Chairman H.V. Rajeev.

All of them have written separately to Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa urging him to propose the establishment of MWSSB and allocate funds for the same in the forthcoming Karnataka Budget. Their argument is after Bengaluru, Mysuru is growing rapidly and the city needs to respond to water and drainage needs to support its growth.

Projects are being taken up to complement the growth like the 10-lane Highway from Mysuru to Bengaluru, mega drinking water supply projects to supply water from Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) Dam, linking of the two cities with double-track electrified Railway line and others.

In such a situation, there are many people from Bengaluru who are setting up their homes in Mysuru. Also, MUDA is constructing many layouts after acquiring lands beyond the Mysuru city limits in Mysuru Taluk, they said in their letters. If the MWSSB is established, all MUDA layouts can enjoy basic facilities, they stated.

MWSSB can effectively cater to the water supply and sewage line requirements of areas under not only the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) but MUDA layouts and MUDA-approved layouts in the city. Also, many private layouts and gated communities are mushrooming in and  around Mysuru.

Limited resources: At present, Vani Vilas Water Works (VVWW), the water supply arm of the MCC, is catering only to the localities that are in the jurisdiction of MCC. MUDA layouts and MUDA-approved layouts, which are part of Gram Panchayats on the outskirts of Mysuru, are robbed of these facilities provided by VVWW. The Gram Panchayats do not have the financial or technical resources to ensure water supply and sewerage facilities to the new areas and the creation of MWSSB is the only solution, the MP, MLAs and MUDA Chairman have reiterated in their letters.

Over 50,000 residential sites have been developed in MUDA layouts and MUDA-approved private layouts on the outskirts and all these new extensions were being provided borewell water with fluoride content and there is a desperate need to supply potable water to these layouts that are presently under Gram Panchayat limits. Apart from financial and technical hurdles, the Gram Panchayats have no human resources to ensure water and drainage facilities, they said.

For additional water

Establishment of MWSSB will be pertinent now as the works on Hale Unduwadi drinking water project has been set in motion. The project seeks to bring additional water to the growing city areas, they argued. Mysuru receives 250-260 MLD (Million Litres a Day) of water from Belagola, Hongalli, Kabini and Melapura drinking water projects and the Hale Unduwadi drinking water project is aimed at bringing an additional 150 MLD water from KRS Dam.

There are drinking water sources like the Cauvery which flows barely 15 km north of Mysuru and the Kapila which runs at a distance of about 20 km south of the city. Yet, the residential areas that are part of MUDA layouts and MUDA-approved layouts are not receiving proper supply of water, they have stated in the letter.