The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) on Saturday, April 6, said that the Karnataka Ground Water Authority (KGW) had been asked to take action against those who have constructed illegal borewells at Ambedkar Nagar in Bengaluru’s Whitefield. A team of BWSSB officials inspected all the Paying Guest (PG) facilities in the area after residents filed several complaints regarding commercial borewells and illegal water connections.

On April 5, TNM  had reported the increase in commercial borewells and how it has led to the depletion of groundwater in the public borewells in the area. 

BWSSB executive engineer Mirza Anwar told TNM that the KGW will take action against those who have already constructed illegal borewells. “For those under construction, we will file complaints with the police. We have filed two cases with the police already,” he said, adding that he has instructed his team to conduct a thorough survey in the area.

In response to allegations that PG buildings do not have water metres, Mirza Anwar said that while two buildings are yet to apply for a water connection, all others have authorised connections. He also added that his team is working on improving the frequency and duration of water supply to the area through BWSSB tankers, to cater to the increased demand.

Sonnappa, a local resident, had received information through a Right to Information (RTI) petition that most of the PG buildings are illegal as they do not have the necessary documents. He said, “I did not get any response to the multiple complaints I filed. On Saturday morning, I received a call from the officers who visited the area. They asked me to collect the documents from the BWSSB office on Monday, April 8.”

Read: Bengaluru: In Whitefield, residents are up in arms over commercial borewells