Bengaluru Water Shutdown: BWSSB to Halt Cauvery Supply for 24 Hours for Essential Maintenance

Bengaluru will wake up to dry taps on Thursday as the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) shuts Cauvery supply for 24 hours from 6 am on February 5 to 6 am on February 6. Large parts of South and Central Bengaluru are expected to see no water or very low pressure, with officials urging households and apartments to store water today and plan for essential use only.

The shutdown is part of emergency maintenance on key transmission mains that carry Cauvery water into the city. Engineers will link large-diameter 1,200 mm and 700 mm pipelines and replace ageing cast-iron stretches with new mild-steel lines near Sarakki, work that cannot be done with high-pressure water flowing. BWSSB says the 24-hour halt is unavoidable to ensure long-term reliability of Bengaluru’s main drinking water network.

BWSSB 24-hour Cauvery water shutdown: timings and reason

According to BWSSB, pumping stations under Cauvery Water Supply Scheme Stages I and II will be completely stopped from 6 am on Thursday, February 5, until 6 am on Friday, February 6. During this window, treated water will not be pushed from the TK Halli side towards the city, so reservoirs and overhead tanks in affected areas will gradually run dry. Officials say resumption will be phased, and normal pressure may take several hours after 6 am on Friday.

The board has described the work as “essential linking” of large pipelines that form the backbone of the older Cauvery stages. At Sarakki, old 1,200 mm cast-iron pipes are being replaced and connected with a new configuration of 1,200 mm, 900 mm and 700 mm mild-steel mains, aimed at reducing leaks and improving flow control. Recent experience with major leak repairs on Cauvery transmission mains has underlined the need for planned shutdowns rather than waiting for failures.

Areas in South and Central Bengaluru hit by water cut

The disruption covers a wide belt from Magadi Road in the west to Koramangala and Domlur in the east, and from JP Nagar and Uttarahalli in the south up to MG Road and Richmond Town. Heavily dependent residential pockets like Banashankari, Jayanagar, JP Nagar, Padmanabha Nagar, Kumaraswamy Layout, ISRO Layout, Uttarahalli and surrounding localities will either receive no water or only trickles from Thursday morning. Commercial areas and markets in these zones are also likely to be affected.

Central Bengaluru neighbourhoods such as Shantinagar, Wilson Garden, Adugodi, Madiwala, Koramangala blocks 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, Richmond Town, Langford Town, Austin Town, Vivek Nagar, Johnson Market and parts of MG Road will also see disruption. BWSSB has listed several inner layouts including Suddagunte Palya, Bhavani Layout, Brindavan Layout, Maruti Layout, various colonies off Kanakapura Road, and localities around major hospitals like NIMHANS, St John’s and Command Hospital among the impacted areas.

Zone	Representative affected areas
South Bengaluru	Banashankari, Jayanagar, JP Nagar, Padmanabha Nagar, Uttarahalli, Kumaraswamy Layout, ISRO Layout
Central Bengaluru	Shantinagar, Wilson Garden, Richmond Town, Langford Town, Austin Town, MG Road surroundings
East / South-East	Koramangala blocks, Madiwala, Domlur Layout, Cambridge Layout, parts of Indiranagar side
West	Magadi Road, Chamarajpet, Srinagar, Hosakerehalli, Ittamadu and nearby layouts

BWSSB advisory: store water, coordinate tankers and apartment supply

BWSSB has appealed to residents to fill overhead and underground tanks, drums and buckets before 6 am on Thursday and avoid non-essential uses such as car washing, gardening or floor flushing until normal supply resumes. Chairman Dr V Ram Prasath Manohar said, “Residents are requested to store sufficient water before the maintenance work begins and use it sparingly during the disruption.” Apartment associations have been advised to stagger pumping and share updates with residents.

Many large housing complexes in South Bengaluru are already lining up private tankers for Thursday evening and Friday morning, anticipating that stored Cauvery water may not last for all flats. Resident welfare associations are circulating internal checklists covering drinking water storage, bathroom buckets, kitchen use and postponement of heavy laundry. Civic volunteers are also asking households to check elderly neighbours and families with infants, who may need extra stored water or shared access.

How Bengaluru households can prepare for the 24-hour water cut

Urban water planners say that for a family of four, storing at least 80–100 litres for drinking and cooking alone is advisable for a full day, with additional capacity for basic bathing and toilet use. Buckets and small containers should be cleaned before filling to avoid contamination, and drinking water ideally stored separately in closed bottles or cans. Experts also recommend labelling containers so potable water is not accidentally used for washing.

With repeated shutdowns linked to Cauvery maintenance in recent years, Bengaluru’s experience underlines the fragility of long-distance bulk water dependence and the importance of demand management. While Thursday’s outage is time-bound, officials and planners see it as a reminder to households and apartments to fix internal leaks, install low-flow fixtures and diversify sources through rainwater harvesting wherever possible, reducing stress on a system that already supplies millions across the metropolis.