Water crisis: Prior permission must for drilling borewells in B'luru from March 15, says civic body
Bengaluru (PTI): As the city grapples with one of its worst water crises, the civic water board has warned of initiating legal action against those drilling unauthorised borewells, in yet another measure aimed at tiding over the situation.
The move comes days after Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) banned the usage of potable water for non-essential purposes, including cleaning vehicles.
In its latest order, the BWSSB said that starting March 15, people have to seek permission for drilling borewells by submitting their applications on its official website. Approval will be granted based on site inspection by the concerned officials, it said.
ALSO READ: Water crisis: Karnataka has not seen such a severe drought in 3-4 decades: Deputy CM
BWSSB said in an order that before drilling borewells for personal or other use in Bengaluru city, it is mandatory to obtain permission from concerned authorities as per section 11 of Karnataka Ground Water (Regulation and Control of Development and Management) Act, 2011.
It cited lack of adequate rainwater as a reason for decline in ground water level and said many borewells in the city have dried up.
Officials also suspect that ground water level in the city is also decreasing due to "unscientific drilling" of borewells.
According to the order, borewells should be drilled only in those places where permission has been granted by the concerned authorities and if they are done in unauthorised places, legal action will be taken as per rules.
The order comes just days after BWSSB banned usage of potable water for non-essential purposes -- cleaning vehicles, construction of buildings and roads, for entertainment purposes or decorations like fountains--in the city and stated that violators would be fined Rs 5,000.
ALSO READ: Amid water crisis in B'luru, BWSSB bans usage of potable water for non-essential purposes
Malls and cinema halls are permitted to use potable water only for drinking, according to the March 7 order.
Incidentally, deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, also in-charge of Bengaluru development, had earlier in the day said Karnataka has not witnessed such an acute water crisis in the last 30-40 years, and that the next two months are "very much important."
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Pakistan reports two more polio cases; Total tally now 52
ISLAMABAD: At least two more cases of poliovirus were reported in Pakistan, taking the number of infections to 52 so far this year, a report said on Friday.
“The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed the detection of two more wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases in Pakistan," an official statement said.
The fresh infections — a boy and a girl — were reported from the Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
“Genetic sequencing of the samples collected from the children is underway," the statement read. Dera Ismail Khan, one of the seven polio-endemic districts of southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has reported five polio cases so far this year.
Of the 52 cases in the country this year, 24 are from Balochistan, 13 from Sindh, 13 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
There is no cure for polio. Only multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five can keep them protected.
