Legislature panel wants T G Halli to be ready to receive Yethinahole water

The Public Accounts Committee of the state legislature has sought that desilting of Thippagondanahalli (T G Halli) reservoir be taken up with immediate effect.

The committee headed by former deputy chief minister and BJP leader R Ashoka visited the reservoir on Friday as part of an inspection exercise. According to sources, up to 15 feet of silt has accumulated in the reservoir.

The plan is to make the reservoir ready to store Yettinahole water by 2019. Around 2.5 tmc ft will be stored in the Hesarghatta and T G Halli reservoirs under the Yettinahole project to meet the drinking water needs of Bengaluru and surrounding areas.

Pumping of water from T G Halli was stopped in 2013 after it was deemed to be too polluted for consumption.
The panel also sought cleaning of the reservoir and sought information on measures taken to check effluents from entering the reservoir and it catchment areas. Measures taken to curb illegal sand mining and quarrying in and around the reservoir was also sought.

Panel members Vinay Kumar Sorake, Visveshvara Hegde Kageri, B J Puttaswamy, V Somanna and Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) chairman Tushar Girinath were present.