With dams dry, will Bengaluru be forced to drink its dirty lakes?

 

Recently, confirming fears of tough summer months ahead and sounding the alarm bells for upcoming no-water situation in Bengaluru, government officials have said that the “live” storage at the Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) dam will not last beyond two months. As a result, the government has, as an emergency measure, given the permission of digging close to 250 borewells.  

 

The city’s major source of water supply is close to drying up, so now where will Bengaluru get its water from? Water activists point out the one option that everyone will now pounce upon to fill the shortage – lakes, or whatever is left of these water bodies.

 

 

Activists fear that the tanker mafia may plunder lakes and supply dirty water to residents. The rapidly growing population in the city requires more water to be taken from the present water network and so leave little or none for the coming days. Add to it the Cauvery Water dispute decision by the Supreme Court directing Karnataka to release the Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu. Our only respite will be the rainfall (if it comes properly).

 

Already the dams are drying, now the BWSSB has also announced that of the 56 ground-level reservoirs that hold Cauvery water in the city, around 15 had leakage issues; most of these sites are more than 35 years old. Other reservoirs will also be pressed into service if the need arises, yet the future does not look too smooth.

 

"This trend of supplying of water from lakes in and surrounding Bengaluru has already begun. Several tankers are already plying in the City and residents are being charged. The irony is that nature is being killed and sold by mafia and the government is not able to pull the plug on such mafia," said Ram Prasad, Convener, Friends of the Lake .

 

 

Activists from the People Union For Civil Liberties (PUCL), an organisation working for civil rights warn that water shortage will definitely be a source of worry for those living in urban slums and middle and lower class during summer.

 

"The lakes are already polluted with sewage inflow. And this is the water, which is being drawn in many areas and supplied. Those who will drink this water will be risking their like, there will so much harmful bacteria in that. For urban slums, the BWSSB has agreed to supply water through tankers and they may have to wait for water as the supply will be once a week," said Selva Arun, Joint Secretary, Bengaluru Chapter, PUCL, giving a picture of the water problems staring at us.

 

BBMP Mayor G Padmavathi, who is also monitoring the situation, says, “The lake division in BBMP has been alerted to stop the entry of private tankers in the surroundings and inform the control room if the tankers take water.

 

Summer horror: Bengaluru staring at water crisis as dam levels plummet

 

"Water theft case will be filed against such errant tankers and the tankers will be seized. The BBMP has already asked the BWSSB to divert the sewage from lakes to the sewage treatment plant. By the end of 2017 most of the lakes will be taken up for rejuvenation. The BBMP also has asked the residents to install rain water harvesting units as the ground water can be recharged and used during the  harsh summer.” 

 

Those who supply water in tankers will look to make a quick buck out of this scarcity and will not concentrate on whether the water is clean or not. What is ending up in homes in the name of drinking water will be suspect then.

 

The city might soon see a rise in diseases and when the summer epidemics begin their charge, city hospitals may just be flush with patients suffering from water-borne diseases. Even if this water is not used for drinking purposes, the contamination level in them is bound to spread infections.

 

Cauvery row: Bengaluru may soon have no water to drink