If everything goes as per the plan, the University of Mysore (UoM) will have no water problem from next year as the varsity will get two lakh litres water per day from River Cauvery. Till now, the water was supplied from 16 borewells to the entire varsity.
Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) and Vani Vilas Water Works (VVWW) have agreed to pump water from the river and two lakh litres will be supplied to the campus per day. The authorities concerned will construct a water tank and the water will be pumped to the tank.
In a press conference here, UoM Vice-Chancellor G Hemantha Kumar said, "The MCC has agreed to supply water from Hongalli pumping station and the project costs Rs 3.5 crore. The varsity is ready to pay the prescribed amount to the government. We have paid Rs 1 crore for the project.”
At present, the varsity has a total of 17 borewells and 16 of them are in working condition and water can be drawn. But, the water from these wells is insufficient as the number of students has increased. If water problem is sorted out then the problem related to cleanliness and hygiene too will be addressed, the VC said.
“The water from the borewells was sufficient when there were only 2,000 students 10 years ago. But now, the varsity has more than 4,000 students. The project is a permanent solution for water crisis in the varsity. Besides, eight departments have installed rainwater harvest unit in order to utilise the rain water," he said.
Hemantha Kumar said, "There are 1,500 girls in the varsity. Despite the construction of new toilet blocks, the taps and pipelines were blocked due to hard water from borewells. The varsity needs 10 tanker loads of water from February till monsoon."
"Due to the hardness of borewell water, it was difficult for the students to perform tests at science laboratory during the practical classes. Meanwhile, the water supply too was affected due to blockages water taps and pipes," he said.