GBA executive committee meeting focuses on filling lakes, shifting 103 bus-stands

The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) on Thursday directed the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) to focus on limiting leakages and coordinating with city corporations while implementing its annual action plan.

Noting that rainwater harvesting systems were failing in some cases, resulting in water entering the sewerage network, the BWSSB had been directed to take up a special drive to identify the irregularities, said GBA chief M. Maheswar Rao, after the third meeting of the GBA executive committee on Thursday.

Further, the water board had been instructed to coordinate with the corporations to fill the city’s lakes under Cauvery Stage V and through sewage treatment plants, he said.

Mr. Rao said the Fire and Emergency Services had submitted a list of 55 locations in the city where a fire hydrant network could be installed. Greater Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, who chaired the executive committee meeting, also directed the department to review the need for foam-based fire tenders.

Mr. Rao said that the corporations had been told to expedite the Suraksha 75 project taken up to curb accidents in the city.

Mr. Byre Gowda ordered the completion of the walkway at Iblur Junction on the Outer Ring Road, one of the city’s most congested junctions. Further, he asked BMTC and other department officials to come up with an action plan to improve first- and last-mile connectivity to promote public transport.

Mr. Rao said the Minister had also ordered the shifting of 103 bus-stands in the city to eliminate traffic chokepoints. He also said that the CCTV cameras installed under the Safe City project could be used for civic work purposes, such as identifying potholes or garbage littering.