Water Supply

Two bubbly, excited girls might be your first impression when you meet Garvita Gulhati and Pooja S. Tanawade. But there is more to the duo who are showing Bengaluru, and in fact the nation, innovative ways to a more responsible, water-secure future. As founders of the initiative “Why Waste,” they focus on saving water in restaurants, and have recently expanded their work to also address waste segregation. Aged 16 and 17, in many ways Garvita and Pooja are like normal teenagers. Rather, they are. They like to dance, paint and love Harry Potter. As Garvita says, “I don’t think we…

Even as the torrential rains in December improved groundwater tables, unchecked extraction of groundwater by water tankers is a cause for worry. Who will bell this cat? Even as the mercury soars, the increase in groundwater level and storage in reservoirs have eased the concern of residents over water shortage in many parts of Chennai. After the record rainfall last year that resulted in severe flooding, the ground water level in many areas around the city has increased by 6-8 metres, with some areas even recording an increase of 10.5 metres, according to the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage…

Bayview Apartments, a multi-storeyed residential complex located in Besant Nagar, Chennai consists of 140 flats in five blocks. Each block in the complex, which was built in 1988, has an open well. Since the community was able to access sufficiently good water within its premises, the residents have been meeting their needs with this well water, and have skipped going to the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) for their water connection. Skipping the municipal supplier's services has made the residents prone to a higher risk of being without water, but they have managed so far. In 1999,…