The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) would set up a 24x7 call centre and also provide one mobile squad each for four Assembly constituencies from next month to address grievances of city residents.

Minister for BWSSB, IT/BT and Housing Katta Subramanya Naidu told reporters here the call centre would be established at BWSSB?s head office to address complaints regarding contamination and leakage of water, "attitudinal problems" of BWSSB staff, rainwater harvesting, non-supply of drinking water, manhole overflow, snarls in sewerage lines, and water thefts.

The call centre would be linked to service stations of the BWSSB to respond immediately to the complaints, he said.

A mobile squad comprising an assistant engineer, six workers armed with materials and equipment would visit the spot and address problems related to drinking water and sewerage. There would be a one mobile squad each for four assembly constituencies.

A decision has been taken to increase the number of BWSSB service stations from 104 to 198, he said.

The number of ground-level reservoirs would also be increased from 48 to 70 soon to ensure adequate supply of potable water for city?s residents, Naidu said.

The BWSSB?s administration would be reorganised to respond positively to the grievances of the people and deliver effective service. One assistant engineer would be posted to each ward to monitor works daily.

Owing to increased demand for water connections, the BWSSB has decided against giving new connections to new residential apartments and commercial complexes till 2011.

Naidu also said the Government has decided to construct 57,166 houses for rehabilitation of the flood affected people in 14 districts of north Karnataka. Now, work on 1,338 houses had been completed. About 3,000 houses would be handed over to eligible families on coming August 15.

He and Revenue Minister G Karunakara Reddy would tour north Karnataka to monitor progress and quality of works, Naidu said.