Built at a cost of Rs. 18.40 crore, the four-storeyed structure to house Mysuru Division Office of KUWS&DB

Mysore/Mysuru: Urban Development Minister Byrathi Basavaraj inaugurated the Jal Bhavan constructed near the Post Office at Saraswathipuram this morning.

The building is constructed by Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board (KUWS&DB) at a cost of Rs. 18.40 crore. It is a four-storeyed structure, built in Indo-Saracenic style of architecture in keeping with the city’s heritage.

Speaking after inaugurating Jal Bhavan, Byrathi Basavaraj said that the building, which has a built up area of 4,441 sq.mts, will house the Mysuru Division Office of KUWS&DB, which comprises eight districts.

Pointing out that the works on the construction of the building began four years ago, the Minister asked the officials and staff to respond to the drinking water needs of the districts of the region.

Highlighting the achievements of KUWS&DB, he wished that the Jal Bhavan becomes an inspiration for speedy execution of all drinking water and sanitation projects.

District Minister S.T. Somashekar, MP Pratap Simha, MLAs L. Nagendra and  Tanveer Sait, Mayor Sunanda Palanetra, Chairmen of various Boards and Corporations —  H.V. Rajeev, N.V. Phanish, L.R. Mahadevaswamy, Hemanth Kumar Gowda, M. Appanna — and other officials were present.

Speaking to presspersons on the sidelines of the programme, MLA Tanveer Sait, replying to a question on an online campaign urging the Congress to make him the Deputy Chief Minister if the party came to power in the State, said he came to know about the campaign only yesterday. Pointing out that the online campaign may have been voluntarily  launched by his fans and supporters, Sait said that all politicians like to hold some post or the other and he too, just like others was an aspirant for a top Ministry.

Maintaining that he has worked hard for the Congress for years, Sait said there is nothing wrong in the campaign and it is but natural for a politician to aspire for power.

Coming back to the topic of Jal Bhavan, Sait that netas have been talking about 24×7 drinking water supply to the city, which, unfortunately, has not materialised so far.

Pointing out that agencies like VVWW and Jusco have spent crores of rupees on executing the project, he said that, now with the inauguration of Jal Bhavan, he hopes that the 24×7 water supply project will be  expedited and completed soon.