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| courtesy:ipetitions.com |
This summer in Bangalore has been particularly tough. Every year as summer approaches, we face a certain level of water scarcity and power cuts as well. But, this year the water scarcity has touched new lows. We get water from a lake nearby and that has all but dried up. This year, I haven’t seen the pre-monsoon rains that almost start by March. The monsoon is delayed and so far there has not been any good rains except maybe a couple of times. No matter how much we conserve, the water crisis is of grim proportions.
We don’t have Cauvery water yet, not that it is of great solace because we all know how irregular that supply is even in areas that have them. And, now BWSSB have literally left the people high and dry by suspending supply for 3 straight days in the coming week. In a thirsty and parched Bangalore, water tankers are having a field day. They are overcharging and, of course, no guarantees that you will still get water. I don’t know what we have done to this beautiful garden city. When we came here 10 years ago, massive construction work was going on in terms of flyovers and apartment complexes. The area we live in South Bangalore has seen immense growth or should I say degradation in the past few years. The water table has gone alarmingly low with indiscriminate construction and cutting of trees.
Most lakes in Bangalore have dried up and vanished. Many have been encroached upon to get more land for development. To see some of the sad statistics read this article. Some statistics from the article:
- The 262 wetlands that existed in Bangalore in 1962 had declined by a whopping 58 per cent by 2007.
- 42 lakes were reportedly lost due to development work. They were converted to residential layouts, playgrounds, stadiums, industries, government buildings and bus stands. Scores of private projects, apartments, independent houses and commercial complexes now stand on erstwhile lakes.
Now we are grappling with a drought-like situation. The only solution I see is recharging the lakes and rain water harvesting. Surprisingly, the builder did not give us that option. There is not an inch of land in our layout where we can try out rain-water harvesting initiative for our community. If we wish to have it in our home then we will require to change plumbing and have a sump too, which is very difficult to do with a fully constructed house.
With rapid development, the population of Bangalore has doubled in the past few years. An inefficient and corrupt government and a lackadaisical civic administration is hardly doing anything to remedy the situation. I am alarmed when I see the rapid cutting down of trees whether in the name of Metro development or highways. With the trees gone, the climate changes are becoming more acute. The once naturally air-conditioned city now has the temperatures climbing to the late 30s these days.
What is the long-term solution that we can look at? Looks like the cash cow has been milked dry and hung out to die.
Long term solution? None unfortunately. Been born, raised and have lived and will continue to live most of my life here; I remember the massive change Bangalore has got. None of it is good. People are money-minded, no more helping nature, everybody is rushing, rarely does anyone feel it as their own home.. Maybe the fact that they have come here to work and they will go away one day. It is sad.
Since I am a part of the immigrant population too, I would not say that people are exploiting the resources because they will leave and go. We also own a house here and call Bangalore our home now and so do most of the others who live in our community. It is more to do with unplanned expansion in which people are the victims and the civic agencies and the politicians are the real culprits.
water problem in Bangalore is news to me. never thought a city like Bangalore will face such problems. this is sad. what they have done to this beautiful city
Slowly but steadily our water bodies are gone in this mad quest for development.
There are long term solutions like rain water harvesting as you mentioned. I also heard of the system where the water we use for washing pulses etc in kitchen can be used to water plants, basically recycling.
But for all this to happen, there needs to be a proper system in place and obviously the administration has to be supportive.
Oh, we are doing that. Using water from the kitchen for our plants. Like I said, we are conserving water as much as possible. Frankly, it is more out of necessity.
Looks like all that science fiction we have been reading about the 3rd World War being triggered by water, is drawing close.
And, I have the same feeling of doom. I just shiver to think that I might be witness to a water war.
Sad and tough. Wish the govt has regulations on the number of houses built, lakes to be preserved and things like that. Unfortunately, that’s the scenario in most of the metropolitan cities in India….:(
No one follows any regulations. And people know how to circumvent these rules.
Rachna,
MERE KO FUTURE MEIN KYAA HOGAA SE KYAA LENAA DENAA JAB TAK MERI JEB ME KHOOB SE PAISE AA JAYEIN. This is unfortunately the attitude of not only builders but those who are supposed to monitor planned development. This is the same story everywhere, be it Banglore or Gurgaon or any developing city. You may even take adverse affects of greedy mining. Do our so called wise leaders learn anything from such problems? No, isn’t it?
Take care
Yes Jack uncle! Try approaching any Corporator or government official. Who cares about the overall growth? And, we are also happy and satisfied till the problem hits us in the face.
A sad state of affairs….Water Water everywhere but not a drop to drink! Atrocious!
Very sad. We are in deep trouble here.
there are many solutions but who is there to listen..Rain water harvesting should be made compulsory for all the buildings, and there must be a limit to new constructions…
now a days water crunch is felt everywhere, but those who get it rarely use it economically, tap is always opened at full throttle..
It is made compulsory but you know how people have ways to get around mandatory things. Yes, and we hardly conserve when we have enough. We are responsible too for this mess.
It is sad to note Bangalore going the Hyderabad way.We have already lost.
Hope concerned citizens of Bangalore will come together and stop this disaster.
RWAs are trying. How do we approach people in the BBMP? How do we stop mindless encroachment?
The time for pointing out fingers, blame game are long gone.
Depending on local leaders, politicians , to do ‘something’ is not an option.
The citizens need to come together, (as they did in the case of tree felling in Malleshwaram), educate the local people, have awareness campaign and then take the issue to the local bodies.
This needs commitment, from like minded people, intelligentsia, retired bureaucrats.
I wonder will it happen?
You are right! After all collectively all of us are responsible for this sorry state.
very good observation and a great [post to create awareness …. btw this is not just the case of bangalore…if we as citizens don’t stand up for it all the major cities are going to end up like this
Bhavna, welcome to my space. You are right; I can be pretty certain that this must be happening across all cities. We just seem to be progressing on a path of mindless destruction.
This is news to me. Mangalore started having scarcity right in March when I had been there. Now I am thinking whether to come in july or not
Yes, you should check and come. It becomes an even bigger embarrassment if one has guests home.
This has been a perpetual problem here and it is only increasing in proportion with every passing year. The civic body has done nothing to mitigate the problem. Even the their drive to make rain harvesting compulsory is not successful. A long term solution is required but who is willing to take the lead?
Yes, the problem is becoming more grave every year. Rain water harvesting is not being done seriously partly because we are at fault too. Now many of us are looking at other alternatives.
This has been a perpetual problem here and it is only increasing in proportion with every passing year. The civic body has done nothing to mitigate the problem. Even the their drive to make rain harvesting compulsory is not successful. A long term solution is required but who is willing to take the lead?
This has been a perpetual problem here and it is only increasing in proportion with every passing year. The civic body has done nothing to mitigate the problem. Even the their drive to make rain harvesting compulsory is not successful. A long term solution is required but who is willing to take the lead?
This has been a perpetual problem here and it is only increasing in proportion with every passing year. The civic body has done nothing to mitigate the problem. Even the their drive to make rain harvesting compulsory is not successful. A long term solution is required but who is willing to take the lead?
This has been a perpetual problem here and it is only increasing in proportion with every passing year. The civic body has done nothing to mitigate the problem. Even the their drive to make rain harvesting compulsory is not successful. A long term solution is required but who is willing to take the lead?
This has been a perpetual problem here and it is only increasing in proportion with every passing year. The civic body has done nothing to mitigate the problem. Even the their drive to make rain harvesting compulsory is not successful. A long term solution is required but who is willing to take the lead?
This has been a perpetual problem here and it is only increasing in proportion with every passing year. The civic body has done nothing to mitigate the problem. Even the their drive to make rain harvesting compulsory is not successful. A long term solution is required but who is willing to take the lead?
This has been a perpetual problem here and it is only increasing in proportion with every passing year. The civic body has done nothing to mitigate the problem. Even the their drive to make rain harvesting compulsory is not successful. A long term solution is required but who is willing to take the lead?
I never knew that BLR is facing water problems. During my 2 year stay in Bangalore, I saw an immense rise in the construction, and cutting down of trees. Willn’t they think twice before cutting down a tree! If there are only highways, bridges and buildings, how will people breathe? I couldn’t see any govt taking a long term plans towards these issues. They seem to be busy in filling their pockets!
Yes, and we are responsible too. Now that crisis is looming large, we are panicking and trying to find solutions.
Oh Bangalore is facing a huge water scarcity. No one sees the larger picture. If we complain about tree cutting, our voices are stifled because they are all for a good cause — road widening, Metro etc. Don’t know what a common citizen can do.
If you have open roof top area in your building, then, I guess you can harvest enough rain water. Last year, I took part in a competition where we found that a building having 15K sq feet roof top area can harvest 12 lakh litres of water at a place receiving 1000 mm rainfall annually. Bangalore also gets the same amount of rainfall. I guess, you can harvest a significant amount by giving a serious try to it.
Can you forward some information perhaps an article or a link. We are looking at RWH.
I can send you my report if you want. I have a few articles too. Where should I send it?
Please do. This is my email id rachna.parmar@gmail.com. Thanks!
Inbox!
Thanks!
I ma just thinking if their is shortage now, it will increase every year, why are people so blind when will they realise that they may not have water .. how will they survive.. I wonder
people are money minded yes but money wont buy water when its gone
Bikram’s
Exactly! Money will not be able to buy us trees or water.
it is really disheartening to see how the situation is in Bangalore and it is the same situation and even worse in other big cities of India. Power shortage in MP is worse, and water is a problem everywhere, Mumbai there’s problem sometimes even during the monsoons.
Hope something will be done about it soon.
http://styledestino.blogspot.com/
I am thinking about what we can do to better the situation.
I don’t want to comment just bemoaning a crisis…I wish I had information to contribute on how you can conserve water in your house, given the architectural layout…am sending your blog to a couple of conservationist friends and let us see if they have a solution/information of a solution.
I will be grateful if you can provide some inputs. We are actively looking at RWH and how it can be done for us.
Hello Rachana..It is a very depressing situation..Years before, learning about Bangalore through text books and films as the garden City, I had a colourful image of the city in mind..It is truly sad to see bangalore in such pathetic state..
Yes and we are responsible for it.
This problem is not restricted to Bangalore only.
Every city is on its way to water crises.
Problem is not water,problem is mis managmen and corruption.
In Delhi,water tankers are available through tanker mafia,but there is no mwater for anyone through normal sources.
Lets not blame migrants,it is damn policy mis managment
You are absolutely right! We don’t know how to manage our resources, our rain water goes in drains and the natural water bodies are being beaten to death.
I had heard that several years ago, the TN government had introduced copulsory RWH and the water table had risen as a result. But I don’t know if it continues to be so. But that is the only solution for metros and big cities which are being allowed to develop so indiscriminately. Delhi has privileged and neglected localities and also facing depleting water tables. Tankers are allowed to illegally mine water too.
Here also there is mandatory RWH now. But, there are ways people get around the loophole. It is only mandatory for 40X60 sites that are fewer than 40X30 sites plus it is not with retrospective effect. We are also relying on water tankers since a month now.
Appreciating your concern on this issue. At the end you wrote, “If we wish to have it in our home then we will require to change plumbing and have a sump too, which is very difficult to do with a fully constructed house.”. So after saying everything you are hesitant to change yourself and expecting the change or help to come from others .. I am not trying to point my fingers straight at you .. just thinking how hard its for us to change, even though we are well educated and are aware of the situation. I basically come from a village where the the rain water is collected into a pond and used as a drinking water. Though it rains 7/10 days(app 300mm) a year we have no water issues. Here we almost get more then 800mm rain every year and due to our uncontrolled growth and selfishness (I won’t say we don’t have the knowledge) we just emptied the water below us, and the natural kidneys .. lakes .. I don’t see any possible solution getting implemented in near future ..
Anonymous, I would appreciate if you would leave an identity when you think that you want to make a hard-hitting comment. Hiding behind anonymous takes away your credibility. I am not saying that I don’t want to do it. I am acknowledging the difficulties that are there. I am saying that I am trying to find ways in which this can be done without destroying the house. As you can see, I am gathering information about RWH and perhaps there is something that can enable me to pursue it. Also, as you know that we require a huge storage place where all the rain water can be collected so that it can be further channeled to increase the water table. We don’t have an inch of space anywhere in our layout. All these will have to be considered but some measure has to be taken.
Here I am .. had no intentions to write something on your wall and run away :-). My comment is neither something personal, nor targeted towards an individual. Its for everyone who don’t accept a hard change which might possibly take them far away from their comfort zone. I am seeing individuals, groups talk about change, improvements mostly in wire, and we are most welcomed (through facebook likes 🙂 )when we change first, Government agencies are busy preparing reports about the situation and rarely allocate a meagre sum which would be eaten by set of folks in large proportions. when it comes to implementation most of us think that its not for us or we can do that later. So the bitter truth is there has been no change(negligible) for past 8 years in this big city. Day by day the watertable is going down (in my area JP nagar 8th phase its below 800 feet), there is a machine drilling today and reached 970 feet to get water. We shouldn’t be surprised to see lava coming out of our boreholes within few years 🙂
http://www.rainwaterclub.org/ (Please have a look at the “Rainwater calculator link on the left side to decide the tank size, an useful utility).
Thank you Rajarajan. And welcome to my space! I accept what you are saying. We are also seeing the water table go lower and lower. Thank you for the link. We are actively looking at RWH. I think that is the only way out of this mess.
Usually RWH system includes a single large sump, which may not be feasible for fully constructed houses. In-order to accommodate the supply at peak times we can have two or four sumps varying in size at all sides of the house. For eg, the space between the main wall and the compound usually be around 2-5 feet, we can have a sump in between, where length will be greater, if we say width(3), length(15) and depth(5), it can hold 6 KLtrs .. voila 🙂 Ok, I may be too positive .. lets reduce the dimension to 2*15*4, still it holds 3 KLtrs, a decent size. When finishing the tank, we need to have the LDPE kind of materials embedded in the wall to protect the water from getting inside the main structures of the house. For a 30*40 house with car parking we can decently design a RWH system with 30Kltrs (10*10*12) .. which is more then sufficient, . Please seek expert advice on designing the tanks, that would save the cost associated with the maintenance.
Water seems to be a raging problem everywhere. It is very sad to see the sorry state of affairs in Bangalore. As you rightly pointed out, there are certain things like rain water harvesting that we can do but not much effort or care seems to be going into those ideas. I seriously hope the negligence doesn’t lead to catastrophic results.
There are some of us who are trying! Citizens need to be vigilant and sensitive to their surroundings. Only then can there be hope.
Saving our water bodies and RWH are two important efforts.
Check out the work at Puttenahalli Lake http://www.puttenahallilake.in
For RWH in Blr http://www.refurbindia.com/RWH.html
you guys have done good work on the lake but the main lake of puttenahalli has almost died, why has nothing been done on that lake
Water scarcity is unfortunate but inevitable. We don’t have control on the clouds and rain. However, we do have control on the way we consume water for our daily needs. A little awareness and proactive thinking can bring about significant changes to this regular annual (some places daily) problem. Simple solution could be to use less water naturally. Here are some helpful ideas for water saving: http://www.zeteoninternational.com . Don’t forget to ask for a demo.