Water Supply

Bengaluru’s water story is full of paradoxes. After all, this is a city where even a lake catches fire. A few hours of rain can wreak havoc on the city. However, come summer, the city faces acute water shortage. It’s not even Bengaluru alone. The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) and the Census 2011 numbers indicate that Delhi meets the water requirement of 82% of its households (population: 17 million). However, the same census numbers show that only 51% of slum-households in Delhi have access to water within their premises. The average level of ground water exploitation in Delhi is 137%,…

On hot summer days in Bangalore, India, it is common to see public water taps on roadsides hissing and spurting as water struggles to come out. People crowd around the tap with pots of brightly coloured plastic, burnished brass or steel, waiting for their turn. Many of these people have come from homes without such luxuries as indoor plumbing and will return carrying enough water to last several days. More privileged citizens have water piped to their houses in larger quantities – and more frequently. But even for them, interrupted water supply and rationing have always been a fact of…

It was recently announced that Care Earth Trust, in association with Nature Conservancy India and IIT-Madras, is in talks with the government agencies and stakeholders to bring back life in Sembakkam lake. As the preliminary work to restore the lake begins, members of Sarvamangala Nagar Association in Chitlapakkam met Jayashree Venkatesan of Care Earth Trust recently for assistance to the neighbourhood in rejunevating Chitlapakkam lake.  Organisations such as these, representing citizens from various parts of Chitlapakkam and Sembakkam, are regularly engaged in dialogues and discussion with the Public Works Department, Revenue Administration, Disaster Management and Mitigation Department, Chennai Smart Cities Ltd.;…

Ninety-second showers, yellow water, no flushing, and ruckus caused by fights over water - does it ring a bell? It sure will, if you have read about the water crisis in Cape Town city in South Africa. For months now, the city has been grappling with severe water crisis caused by population growth and continuing drought conditions, leading to fears over 'Day Zero' when the city is projected to shut down water supply altogether. Such prospects have led the government to lay down strict usage and conservation rules, even for tourists. The everyday water usage for an individual is restricted…

There has been an uproar in the state, after the Supreme Court delivered its verdict on February 16th in the centuries-long water sharing dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. In the latest, the apex court bench has ordered Karnataka to release 177.25 tmcft water to Tamil Nadu, as opposed to 192 tmcft awarded in the earlier Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal. Expectedly, farmers from the districts, where groundwater is already running low, are worried that agricultural produce will take a big hit following the reduction of the Cauvery share. But will the verdict also affect those living in Chennai? The problem…

What are we leaving behind for the next generation? If our grandchildren were to question us on the kind of water, river or environment that we have created for them and if that was how we had received it from our previous generations, would you be guilt-ridden? These were some of the questions that hung over the audience, as the Waterman of India, Dr Rajendra Singh, questioned the interest levels of Chennaiites in restoring the city’s river bodies. Dr Rajendra Singh was in the city to talk on Community and River Rejuvenation as part of the DAMned ART festival organised…

It was a cloudy evening in mid-August. It had started drizzling and the dark clouds indicated a heavy spell of rain. It seemed like the South West monsoon would finally show mercy on the water-starved city of Chennai. As I walked on a narrow street that leads to Whites Road in Royapettah, my path was blocked by a water tanker, and tens of women and hundreds of pots thronging it. There was utter chaos on the street packed with houses on both sides. The women were fighting, yelling at each other and trying their best to grab their chance to…

In an earlier article, we had written about how residents of the IT corridor on the Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR) continue to incur huge expenses in procuring water and ensuring proper sewage disposal in the face of the state’s failure to provide adequate infrastructure for the same. Yet one question that gnaws at them all the time is this: When will the OMR stretch get its water and sewer lines? This is now the proverbial million dollar question to which nobody has a precise answer. A visit to the Chennai Metro Water website indicates a vibrant water and sewage network…

Towards the end of the first decade of the 2000s, the Rajiv Gandhi Salai Information Technology (IT) corridor (formerly known as Old Mahabalipuram Road or OMR), became Chennai’s new face. The 45-km long IT corridor stretch that was launched with much fanfare to attract IT industries and thus bring in profit to the government exchequer is even today one of the fastest growing residential localities in the city. But take a guess at how much OMR residents spend on water and sewage every year? Approximately Rs 700 crore or more! For the residents, mostly IT employees living on the 20-km…

Pune has a story similar to many other cities in India that grew exponentially without much warning. The unplanned development hit the water resources badly, increasing the city’s dependence on groundwater. Now, the city experiences water scarcity every year, even when the monsoons have been plentiful. Although the authorities have assured the citizens of adequate water storage in the dams and fewer water cuts this year, long-term, sustainable solutions still evade all political discourses. The good news, however, is that the citizens and the housing societies have now started coming forward to work around the problem and advocate changes at…