City founded by Kempe Gowda following same pattern as Cape Town in 2018
An equestrian statute of Kempe Gowda I, a chieftain who served the rulers of Vijayanagar and founded Bengaluru in 1537, at the Vidhanasoudha on an overcast day. Representative photo from iStock India’s third-most populous city is facing the worst potable water crisis in its nearly 500-year history. Over 30 localities under the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) are already receiving water on a rotational basis every alternate day. But could Bengaluru go the way of Cape Town, South Africa in 2018 and reach ‘Day Zero’?
Everything at the moment portends to such a scenario and is not helped by the fact that the next monsoon is still 100 days away.
Just like Bengaluru, Cape Town destroyed all its water bodies and wetlands in its pursuit of surfing the global real estate boom since 1990. In less than 25 years, the city is now totally dependent on a river hundreds of kilometres away through an augmented water supply system. Due to the drought situation prevailing year after year, even the river and the reservoirs are holding less water.
Bengaluru appears to be following the same pattern. This situation was predicted back in 2016 at an International Lake Conference held in Moodbidri in Dakshina Kannada district.
The deliberations in that conference had raised concerns about the rapid de-notification of lands reserved for green cover, wetlands, urban forests and river courses by the lopsided policies of the government in the last 30 years or more.
“Urbanisation involves changes in the vast expanse of land cover with the progressive concentration of human population. The urbanised landscape provides its inhabitants a complex social and economic environment leading to a further increase in population. Bangalore had flourished in earlier times owing to its salubrious microclimate, availability of water and other resources in the city. Unplanned urbanisation leads to haphazard growth, altering the local ecology, hydrology and environment. The consequences of unplanned urbanisation are enhanced pollution levels and a lack of adequate infrastructure and basic amenities. This is evident in Bangalore with severe scarcity of water, frequent flooding, enhanced pollution levels, uncongenial buildings, mismanagement of solid and liquid wastes,” notes a scientific article published in the ENVIS report by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc). It was authored by a group of scholars headed by T V Ramachandran of the Centre for Ecological Sciences at the IISc.
The article raises an alarm about the effluvium being let into water bodies through trunk sewers and the stormwater network. Although sustained inflow of sewage into water bodies has maintained the water levels in the system of interconnected lakes, it has also contributed to the contamination of surface as well as groundwater sources. In such conditions, the preservation of surface water sources becomes more imminent, say the experts.
Bengaluru, up until 1961, had 262 lakes. This figure has now come down to 81, according to the last count taken by the city’s green activists.
Several lakes have ended up being claimed by the real estate business for making housing layouts. The Bengaluru Development Authority and BBMP have been held responsible for levelling over 100 lakes directly and indirectly. Of the 81 lakes that are identified as ‘lakes’, only 33 are living just because they are located in zones where land cannot be reclaimed for any activities, say activists from the National Environment Conservation Foundation.
Read Bengaluru: NGT seeks responses on alleged encroachments in Pattandur Agrahara lake’s buffer zone
Following the survey, the Karnataka forest, environment and ecology ministry has advised the health department to concentrate on areas that have contaminated wells.
“There were classic examples of this contamination in Bengaluru city. Lakes like Hebbal, Nagavara, Dasarahalli, Lalbagh and Vengaiah were some of the classic examples of the colossal neglect of our water bodies. Figures from the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) show nearly 90 per cent of Bengaluru’s lakes are on the verge of extinction. The dissolved oxygen content in their water has gone below the desired level of 4 mg/lt due to organic pollution,” an official of the KSPCB told Down To Earth (DTE) on the condition of anonymity.
Taking a cue from the plight of Bengaluru’s waterbodies, the state government has issued blanket orders as lakes and water bodies in Mangaluru, Hubballi-Dharwad, Belagavi, Kalaburagi (formerly Gulbarga), Chitradurga and central Karnataka are also showing the same trend.
The ministry has sent directions to all ULBs (Urban Local Bodies) to remove encroachments on their water bodies, penalise groups and individuals who dump solids and other types of waste in them and if possible, cordon off areas around water bodies for all public activities.
India was one of the first signatories to the First World Convention on Waterbodies and Conservation held in Ramsar, Iran in 1971.
Amid mounting concerns over depleting water resources, residential enclaves in Bengaluru are taking proactive steps to confront the crisis head-on.
Bengaluru’s resident welfare associations (RWA) have implemented strict measures to conserve water. They have initiated water rationing and imposed bans on non-essential water usage activities such as vehicle washing and swimming pool maintenance, a report stated.
An RWA in the prominent gated community of Whitefield has taken stringent measures to monitor and regulate water usage. With no supply of water from the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) in recent days, the RWA has resorted to borewells as its primary water source. In a bid to prevent wastage, it has deployed security personnel to oversee water usage and ensure compliance with conservation efforts.
The RWA has warned residents that households failing to reduce water consumption by 20 per cent may incur additional charges. The message underscores the urgency of conserving water resources and emphasises collective responsibility in addressing the crisis.
Many RWAs — from Rajarajeshwari Nagar to Hulimavu and Nelamangala — are also holding emergency meetings on the advice of the BBMP and town municipalities to chart plans for tiding over the worsening water shortage.
Notably, a prominent residential enclave in south Bengaluru has urged its residents to adopt alternative measures to conserve water. The Prestige Falcon City (PFC) Apartments on Kanakapura Road have suggested using disposable cutlery and wet wipes to minimise water consumption.
Vasanth Kumar, president of the PFC RWA, emphasised the importance of reducing water usage amid the prevailing scarcity. He told DTE, “We used to source water through private tankers. But as there is scarcity even in tanker services, we’re looking for alternatives. We’re aware that there is not enough water at the reservoir (Krishna Raja Sagara on the Cauvery in Mandya), and we must understand the scenario. I have suggested using disposable plates, cutlery and wet wipes, as this will reduce the usage of water and help us sail through the sticky conditions.”
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