groundwater

Bangalore's water crisis has been averted for now, with a newly-formed committee appointed to look into the water supply to the city. One tmc ft (thousand million cubic feet) of water will be diverted from Hemavathi river to the KRS dam; currently there is one tmc ft of live storage existing in KRS dam as well. "Together, this two tmc ft water will meet the requirement of Bangalore till monsoon. The water requirement of Bangalore is 1.2 tmc ft per month," says a senior BWSSB officer, on condition of anonymity. The committee to oversee the process, was appointed after a…

One more lake in Bangalore seems to be nearing extinction. Kadugodi lake in Whitefield is the victim. And the encroachers belong to water mafia. The catchment area of this beautiful lake is being encroached upon by local politicians. They supply water to Whitefield apartments. The water is extracted from the lake and supplied to the apartments at Rs 2,000 per tanker. As if this is not enough, a new compound and buildings are coming up on the lake bed and catchment area. A few concerned citizens of this area have been trying to bring some limelight on the issue and…

While water-strapped Bengaluru is waiting for the mercy of rain gods to bless the Cauvery belt to quench its thirst, water mafia is busy drawing water from just about anywhere: their own bore wells, bore wells of others, lakes and water bodies - wherever one can see water.  As this article goes into publication, the city water board has just announced that Cauvery water supply for Bengaluru will stop in four days. Few know that the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) issued an order in November 2012: No more borewell digging in Bengaluru for commercial purposes. If implemented correctly, this…

A massive Rs 2,300 crores industrial project is coming up in Agara, adjacent to Koramangala, along Sarjapura Road, the first of its kind here. But it might be coming at a cost to the people staying nearby. The project, by Manipal ETA Infotech Pvt Ltd, is a township that includes an SEZ, retail outlets, hotels, office buildings, two residential apartments etc. The project is a joint venture between Century Real Estate and Mantri Builders - while Century is providing land, Mantri is taking care of the construction. A SEBI document of 2011 mentions Sushil Mantri as Chairman and Managing Director…

Is Bangalore hosting way too many talks and seminars and not showing much action on ground? Many seem to think so. But Usha Rajagopalan's talk was infectious enough to get us all on our feet to go home and save water and our water bodies nearby. An interactive panel discussion, "Water Matters: 1.3 billion litres/day - Where do we go from here?" was organised by ‘The Alternative' on Friday, March 22, 2013 at Max Mueller Bhavan. The panelists included Usha Rajagopalan (A founding member of the Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust (PNLIT)), Sekhar Raghavan, the first trustee of the Akash…

About 38 years ago, way back in 1974, there was no "no water day" for Bangalore houses. Corporation water was released to houses every day. "Water timings" was also unheard of. Corporation water flowed in the taps through the day, so much so that many houses had taps connected to an overhead water storage tank only as a back-up. And water used to fill up in the overhead tank on its own, because the pressure of the water in the pipes was sufficient to help the water "reach its own level". This was the time when Bangalore city had just…

"Don't worry for water, Bangalore," - a fortnight ago a news report ascribed the above assurance from the BWSSB and the Government. Nothing can be further from truth. Bangalore is facing a water calamity. The facts are given below. GAP BETWEEN DEMAND AND SUPPLY WILL ONLY INCREASE At the historical 4% population growth rate of Bangalore over the past fifty years, the population of Bangalore living in the 772 sq. km. of area under the present BBMP will increase from 85 lakhs in 2011 to one crore by 2016. With Hessarghatta gone and Tippegondahanally drying up, the only reliable water…

Residents of Sobha Daffodil apartment in HSR Layout Extension have been waiting for water for the last 4-5 months. They had paid around Rs 10 lakh to the BWSSB for water from Cauvery Stage IV Phase II project; they got pipelines laid and meters fixed. But no water comes here yet. Pic courtesy: BWSSB.org "We paid a few crores some 3-4 years back too, for water. In the last few months, we went to the local BWSSB office some 10 times. Every time, we were told that water will come the next day or next week, but there has been…

40% of all the Cauvery water that gets pumped into the city - from a distance of about 140 km and to a height of 500m, at a cost of Rs 300 crores a year is said to be unaccounted for. This is either wasted as a result of leaks or is stolen or not recorded because of faulty meters, thus making it ‘Non-Revenue Water (NRW)' or ‘Unaccounted For Water (UFW)'. BWSSB has woken up to this alarming reality and is trying to address a part of the problem through a project funded by the Japan Bank of International Co-operation…

Private Water tankers in Bangalore are exploiting the situation that desperately demands their service and there is no authority to monitor them. Majority of the new apartments rely on water tankers and residents are often afraid of questioning the quality, for fear of retribution. “We are at the mercy of water tank people, if they stop providing water, we will be in trouble. By knowing that they keep on increasing the price of water and do not produce water quality test results,” says Saurabh Bansal, Committee member, in charge of water at Springfield apartment, Sarjapur Road. Private Water tankers are…