water

We are, according to the traditional calendar,only in Vasant Ritu. But in Bangalore, this is the hot season. The temperature is rising steadily, and so, too, is the demand for water. Sitting on a plateau, having depleted our water-table alarmingly, we are facing tremendous difficulties for water, and the fact was brought home to me by the sight of these women (it's still a sad fact of life that you will hardly find men queueing up with pots) sharing a water source, on this occasion, for washing.   How are we going to fare during Grishma Ritu, I wonder?

Last October, we spoke about several instances of individual and community initiatives towards solving water problems of the city. Sewage water treatment and rainwater harvesting are tools households and communities can use for decreasing their water dependency. These are small initiatives in comparison with the water issues Bangalore faces, but aggregating initiatives at the city scale holds potential; such is the discourse, right or wrongly, held by some activists, public servants, businesses etc. Stretching the idea slightly we have: the water problem of Bangalore can be solved through collective action. Stretching it even further: the BWSSB can do its own…

On the 30th of September, 2016, a few friends and I visited Hennagara lake, and this was the condition of the water on the lake...it actually looked like an abstract painting, with light refracted from the pollutants floating on the water surface.   We were quite shocked, therefore, to see quite a few tankers filling water from this lake. Here's a photo of one of them:   When many of us get water from water tankers, are we aware from where the water is being sourced, and what the quality of the water is? Do Residents' Associations check on this…

Just like Kunti who had Karna on one side and five sons on the other, Mother Kaveri, in the wildlife sanctuary that I visit, flows with Tamil Nadu on one bank, and Karnataka on the other. How does the mother feel, when she sees her children at war with each other? Is it water that flows, or a torrent of tears, for the inability of siblings to get along with each other?

Bangalore is growing at an unprecedented rate,and its sprawling expansions outpaces the public utility's ability to accommodate the skyrocketing demand for water and sanitation services. It is increasingly common for new residential communities to assume total management for their own water and sanitation services through the resident welfare associations. Most of these depend on borewells and tankers, which they sooner or later realise is not a sustainable option. Groundwater recharge, one of the forms of rainwater harvesting, can be instrumental in achieving long-term water security. By taking water out of over-stressed storm drains and replenishing them into shallow aquifers, groundwater…

My maid was talking to me, and telling me about the water situation in her home.  "We pay Rs. 5 per pot or Rs. 15 for a 'can' of water (referring to the large container of water that we often invert into our dispensers). We get 3 per week," she said. Then she laughed and said, "For the same can, you flat people pay Rs. 50!" Water is now a commercial commodity everywhere, and the rates we pay seem to vary widely according to our economic status. The sad part is that one never knows whether this water is indeed…

This write up has been compiled from emails received from Shubha Ramachandran of BIOME Over the past one year, ACWADAM, BIOME, WIPRO and MAPUNITY have been working on a project to map the AQUIFERS in the area around Sarjapura Road (8 MicroWatersheds spread across 33 sqkm in South East Bangalore which is completely dependent on ground water). They have also worked to see if they can revive and protect the 15 lakes in the watershed. People from the area have shared stories and data of their wells, borewells and STPs.  The approach to gather, share and interpret data has been participatory, involving varied stakeholders like borewell diggers, tanker operators, Citizen Groups, Government Agencies etc.…

Soil and Soul brings to you a unique workshop on water that will cover two different challenges we are facing globally: - Understand the natural water cycle and its interconnectedness with our food - Various steps to inculcate as our lifestyle and to contribute back to earth's regeneration cycle - Entire water healing & dynamisation process  based on our experiential learning - Various practical methods to implement in water conservation - Screening of a Film - Explore sustainable lifestyle choices we have in our lives - DIY - Making your own Natural Alternatives for Mr. Muscle, Harpic, Fabic Conditioner, Vessel…

Our good friend Avinash is a relieved man these days. His elderly father is just back home from hospital, after a debilitating bout of dengue fever. Avinash's dad is lucky to be recovering, because in AECS Layout near Whitefield where he lives, there are increasing cases of dengue fever. “My parents' neighbour, a woman, died of the fever. Now her 18-year-old son is battling dengue,” says a worried Avinash. And I know of other people affected by the virus. In my son's school, his class teacher's five-year-old twins, a boy and a girl, are slowly recovering (as I write this),…

"If there is magic on earth, it is contained in water." - Loren Eiseley Bangalore Film Society and Deep Focus cinema along with the partners of the film festival; Rolling Frames Film Society and Birdspot – Bird Habitat Observers, with support from Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy, welcome you to the 9th edition of Voices from the Waters International Traveling Film Festival on Water - a community outreach event on water in everyday life  addressing the most important issues – potable water for house hold needs, agriculture and industry. Festival Venue: National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) Bangalore, Palace Road, Vasanth Nagar, Bangalore Festival…