Will Bangalore have to be evacuated by 2023?

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http://www.firstpost.com/india/will-bangalore-have-to-be-evacuated-by-2023-697649.html

Will Bangalore have to be evacuated by 2023?

by T S Sudhir Apr 13, 2013

“The Government of Karnataka will have to evacuate half of Bangalore in the next ten years, due to water scarcity, contamination of water and diseases.”

It is an ominous prophecy from V Balasubramanian, the former Additional Chief Secretary of Karnataka and Chairman, Centre for Policies and Practices, who conducted an elaborate study of the water woes of the state capital.

Bangaloreans would do well not to dismiss Balasubramanian’s peep into the future as an exaggeration of a worried mind. It is corroborated by the lab results at the Public Health Institute, and the Department of Mines and Geology of the Karnataka government. The results reveal that 52 per cent of the borewell water, and 59 per cent of tap water in Bangalore, is not potable and contain 8.4 per cent and 19 per cent E.coli bacteria respectively.

The reason: the groundwater in at least half of Bangalore is contaminated with sewage water. In 1790, a British captain had described Bangalore as the land of a thousand lakes. Today less than 200 of those 1000 lakes remain and are no more than sewage tanks. The sewage water contaminates the ground water and percolates into the borewells.

For those wondering where the 800-odd lakes disappeared, one just has to drive around Bangalore to say, JP Nagar 4th Phase, which was in fact the Sarakki Agrahara lake. Or to the Kanteerava stadium where the Sampangi lake once existed. Or Banakshankari 2nd stage (Kadirenahalli lake), Kempegowda bus terminal (Dharmabudhi lake), National Dairy Research institute (Koramangala lake), HSR Layout (Parangipalya lake) and more. You are unlikely to find any epitaphs to what was clearly a better city to live in.

“The 850 km of storm water drains meant to carry surplus water from higher elevation lakes to lower levels in a cascading system of natural rainwater harvesting, now instead carry the city’s sewage into these existing so-called lakes,” said Balasubramanian.

“Only 30 per cent of the sewage is treated by the sewage treatment plants and the rest flows into the existing lakes,” he said.

Travel in any direction in the suburbs in Bangalore and all you can see is construction activity. Your picture of a beautiful life cracks the moment you enquire about the water supply in an area from those already living there. The city’s population rose from 53 lakh in 2001 to 87 lakh in 2011 and at the present rate of growth, is likely to touch one crore by 2016. Unfortunately the amount of water in the Cauvery hasn’t increased by the same proportions.

It would help if those in charge of supplying water to Bangalore would also care to plug the leaks in water supply. An estimated 35 percent of water meant for the city is wasted in leakages. This means of the 1400 million litres per day (MLD) that Bangalore draws, nearly 500 MLD is lost as leakage, and with 150 MLD allotted to industries, one crore Bangaloreans will have to make do with 750 MLD everyday in 2016. This will work out to 75 litres per capita per day (LPCD) while the Government of India norm for metro cities is 150 LPCD. Clearly there is a huge mismatch between demand and supply of water from the Cauvery.

Bangalore gets an annual rainfall of 900 mm. But the use of over 3 lakh borewells in the city to draw ground water amounts to almost three and a half times water drawn than the amount received to recharge it. Hence, it comes as no surprise then that most borewells have gone deeper, even up to 1000 feet and the ones which aren’t as deep have run dry. The greater fear is that even this polluted water may not be available after 2018.

And rainwater harvesting is merely symbolic in the Garden city. Out of 18 lakh properties, only 44,000 houses have rainwater harvesting structures.

Most residential properties then rely on water supplied through tankers, that have emerged as one of the most powerful lobbies in Bangalore. It is such a booming business, that there have been instances of the water tanker mafia using force to prevent residential societies from digging borewells to reduce their expenditure on water supplied by them.

When SM Krishna was chief minister, he spoke of making Bangalore another Singapore. In a sense, his wish has come true because Bangalore today, just like Singapore, uses sewage water. The difference, however, is that while Singapore treats its sewage and produces what it calls ‘new water’, Bangalore is forced to use untreated sewage water.

In its report in January 2010, the Agenda for Bengaluru Infrastructure and Development (ABIDe) Task Force suggested rejuvenating the lakes in the region, as part a Bangalore Water 2020 blueprint. It also asked for focus on recycling of water, adding “a specific target should be set for the quantity of water that can be supplied from lakes by 2012. The goal for obtaining 500 MLD from the Integrated Water Management project may be set as the initial target.”

Three years on, very little of it has translated into action and Bangalore continues to sit on a ticking time bomb without realising it will explode in its face one day.

“A city dies when its lakes die. Today Bangalore is growing without realizing it is actually dying,” laments Balasubramanian.

ಅರ್ಕಾವತಿ ನದಿ ಪುನಶ್ಚೇತನ ಕಾಮಗಾರಿಯ ಪರೀಕ್ಷಾ ವರದಿ

ಅರ್ಕಾವತಿ ನದಿ ಪುನಶ್ಚೇತನ ಕಾಮಗಾರಿಯ  ಪರೀಕ್ಷಾ ವರದಿ

ಸತತ ಹಲವಾರು ವರ್ಷಗಳ ಜನರ ಹೋರಾಟದ ಫಲವಾಗಿ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಕಡೆಗೂ ಎಚ್ಚೆತ್ತು 2012.13ನೇ ಸಾಲಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾವೇರಿ ನೀರಾವರಿ ನಿಗಮದ ಮೂಲಕ 22.43 ಕೋಟಿ ರೂ ವೆಚ್ಚದ ಟೆಂಡರ್ ಕರೆದು ಅರ್ಕಾವತಿ ನದಿ ಪುನಶ್ಚೇತನ ಯೋಜನೆಯನ್ನು 3 ಹಂತಗಳಾಗಿ ವಿಭಜಿಸಿ ಜಾರಿ ಮಾಡಿದೆ.

ಮೊದಲ ಹಂತ ನಂದಿ ಬೆಟ್ಟದಿಂದ ಹೆಸರಘಟ್ಟ ಕೆರೆಯವರೆಗೂ 8.10. ಕೋಟಿ ಎರಡನೇ ಹಂತ ಕುಮುದ್ವತಿ ಉಗಮ ಸ್ಥಾನದಿಂದ ತಿಪ್ಪಗೊಂಡನಹಳ್ಳಿಯವರೆಗೂ7.85 ಕೋಟಿ, ಮೂರನೇ ಹಂತ  ಹೆಸರಘಟ್ಟದಿಂದ ತಿಪ್ಪಗೊಂಡನಹಳ್ಳಿಯವರೆಗೂ 6.85ಕೋಟಿ ಈ ಯೋಜನೆಯು ಪ್ರಮುಖವಾಗಿ 400 ಕೆರೆಗಳ ರಾಜಕಾಲುವೆಗಳ ಮತ್ತು ಕೋಡಿ ಕಾಲುವೆಗಳ ಹೂಳುತೆಗೆದು ಕೆರೆಗಳಿಗೆ ಸರಾಗವಾಗಿ ನೀರು ಹರಿದುಬಂದು ಹೆಸರಘಟ್ಟ ಮತ್ತು ತಿಪ್ಪಗೊಂಡನಹಳ್ಳಿ ಜಲಾಶಯಗಳಿಗೆ ನೀರು ಬಬೇಕೆಂಬ  ಆಶಯವನ್ನು ಹೊಂದಿದೆ.

 ಆದರೆ ಎಷ್ಟೇ ಒಳ್ಳೆಯ ಆಶಯಗಳನ್ನು ಹೊಂದಿದ್ದರೂ ಕಾಮಗಾರಿಗಳು ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣ ಯಶಸ್ವಿಯಾಗದ ಹೊರತು ಪುನಶ್ಚೇತನ ಸಾಧ್ಯವಿಲ್ಲ. ಹಾಗಾಗಿ ಈ ಯೋಜನೆಗೆ ಸ್ಥಳೀಯರ ಬೆಂಬಲ ಸಿಗುವಂತಾಗಬೇಕೆಂದು ನಿಗಮದಿಂದ ಅಂದಾಜು ಮೊತ್ತದ ಪ್ರತಿ ಪಡೆದು  ಕರಪತ್ರಗಳನ್ನು ದಾನಿಗಳ ನೆರವಿನಿಂದ ಮುದ್ರಿಸಿ ಮೊದಲ ಹಂತದ ಹಳ್ಳಿಗಳಿಗೆ ಹಂಚಿದ್ದು  ಆಗಿತ್ತು,

ಕರಪತ್ರ ತಲುಪಿದ ಹಳ್ಳಿಗಳಿಂದ ಕಾಮಗಾರಿಯ ಗುಣಮಟ್ಟದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಅಸಮದಾನ ಹೊಂದಿದ್ದ ಸಮುದಾಯ ಪ್ರತಿನಿಧಿಗಳ ಕರೆಗಳು ಬರಲಾರಂಭಿಸಿದವು, ಹಾಗಾಗಿ ಸಮುದಾಯದವರ ಜೊತೆ ಒಂದು ಕಾಮಗಾರಿಯ ಗುಣಮಟ್ಟದ ಪರೀಕ್ಷಾ ಮಾಡುವ   ಅನ್ನೋ ನಿರ್ಧಾರಕ್ಕೆ ಸಮಿತಿ ಬಂತು, ಇದರ ಬೆನ್ನಲ್ಲೇ ಹಲವಾರು ಕಡೆ ನೋಡಿದಾಗ ಗುಣಮಟ್ಟದಲ್ಲಿ ಕೊರತೆ ಕಾಣಿಸಿತು. 

ಇದರಿಂದಾಗಿ ದಿನಾಂಕ 15.12.12ರಂದು ದಿನಾಂಕ ಮತ್ತು ಸ್ಥಳ ನಿಗದಿ ಪಡಿಸಿಕೊಂಡು ಅರ್ಕಾವತಿ ಸಮಿತಿ, ರೈತ ಸಂಘಟನೆಗಳ ಪದಾಧಿಕಾರಿಗಳು, ಮತ್ತು ಸ್ಥಳೀಯ ಜನರ ಜೊತೆ ಜೊತೆ ನಿಗಮದ ಇಂಜಿನಿಯರ್  ಗಳಿಗೆ ಮೊದಲೇ ತಿಳಿಸಿದ್ದರಿಂದ ಅವರು ಸೊಣ್ಣೇನಹಳ್ಲೀಯಿಂದ ದೊಡ್ಡಹೆಜ್ಜಾಜಿಗೆ ಹೋಗುವ ಕಾಲುವೆ ಕಾಮಗಾರಿ ಮುಗಿದಿದೆ ಪರಿಶೀಲನೆ ಮಾಡಿ ಅಂತ ಅಂದ್ರು , ಹಾಗಾಗಿ ಅಲ್ಲಿಗೆ ಹೋದ್ವಿ, ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾ,ನೀನಿ,ದ ಇಂಜಿನಿಯರ್ ಗೋಪಾಲ್ ಮತ್ತು ಗುತ್ತಿಗೆದಾರರ ಕಡೆಯ  ಇಂಜಿನಿಯರ್ ಪ್ರಕಾಶ್ ಇದ್ರು ಮೊದಲಿಗೆ ಆ ಸ್ಥಳದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಮತ್ತು ಕಾಮಗಾರಿಗೆ ಸಂಬಂದಿಸಿದ ದಾಖಲೆಗಳನ್ನು ಕೇಳಿದಾಗ ಅದು ಅವರ ಬಳಿ ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ , ಆ ಕಾಮಗಾರಿಯ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಸಮಿತಿಯ ಕಾರ್ಯದರ್ಶಿಗಳಾದ ಶ್ರೀ ಎಂ ಆರ್ ಸೀತಾರಾಂ ಕೇಳಿದ ಯಾವೊಂದು ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಗಳಿಗೂ ಅವರ ಬಳಿ ಸ್ಪಷ್ಟ ಉತ್ತರ ಸಿಗಲಿಲ್ಲ 

ನಾವೆ ಟೇಪ್ ಹಿಡಿದು ಅಳತೆ ಮಾಡಿದಾಗ 4ಮೀಟರ್ ಅಗಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಎರಡೂ ಕಡೆ ಲೆಕ್ಕ ಹಾಕಿದ್ರು ಎರಡು ಅಡಿ ಮಾತ್ರ ಮಣ್ಣು ಹೊರಗೆ ಹಾಕಿದ್ರು ಇವುಗಳ  ಆಧಾರದಲ್ಲಿ ಇಡೀ ಆ ಸ್ಥಳದ ಕಾಮಗಾರಿಯ ಗುಣಮಟ್ಟ ಬರಿ 12 % 20% ಅಷ್ಟೆ ಆಗಿತ್ತು , ಆಗ ಗೋಪಾಲ್ ಇನ್ನೂ ಈ ಸ್ಥಳದಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾಮಗಾರಿ ಬಾಕಿ ಇದೆ ಅಂತಂದ್ರು, ಆಗ ಅಲ್ಲೇ ಇದ್ದ ಸಿಪಿಎಂ ನ ಚಂದ್ರ ತೇಜಸ್ವಿಯವರು ಕಡೆಗೆ ಇದು ಆಗುವ ಹೋಗುವ ಕೆಲಸ ಅಲ್ಲ ಹಾಗಾಗಿ ಕಾವೇರಿ ನೀರಾವರಿ ನಿಗಮದ ಕೇಂದ್ರ ಕಛೇರಿಗೆ ಭೇಟಿ ನೀಡಿ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥಾಪಕ ನಿರ್ಧೇಶಕರ ಜೊತೆ ಮಾತಾಡುವ ಅಂದ್ರು 

ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಗೋಪಾಲ್ ಸಹ ನಮ್ಮ ಬಳಿ ಇರೋದು ಇಷ್ಟೆ ದಾಖಲೆಗಳು ಹಾಗಾಗಿ ಇನ್ನುಳಿದ ದಾಖಲೆಗಳನ್ನು ನಿಗಮದಿಂದ ಪಡೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳಿ ಅಂತ ಅಂದ್ರು 

ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಸಮಿತಿಯ ಕಾರ್ಯದರ್ಶಿ ಸೀತಾರಾಂ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥಾಪಕ ನಿರ್ಧೇಶಕರನ್ನು ಸಂಪರ್ಕ ಮಾಡಿ ಸಭೆ ಕರೆಯುವಂತೆ ಮತ್ತು ಅಂದು ಅಗತ್ಯ ದಾಖಲೆಗಳು ಮತ್ತು ಅಧಿಕಾರಿಗಳ ಹಾಜರಿಯನ್ನು ಕೋರಲಾಗಿದೆ 

ಇದಕ್ಕೆ ಪೂರಕವಾಗಿ ಪ್ರತಿಕ್ರಿಯೆ ನೀಡಿದ ನಿರ್ಧೇಶಕರು ದಿನಾಂಕ 7.01.2013ರಂದು ಕಾವೇರಿ ನೀರಾವರಿ ನಿಗಮದ ಕೇಂದ್ರ ಕಛೇರಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸಭೆ ಕರೆದಿದ್ದರು ಅದರಲ್ಲಿ ಆದದ್ದು ಮುಂದಿನ ಪೋಸ್ಟ್ನಲ್ಲಿ ಹಾಕ್ತೀನಿ 

by 
 Manjunatha G Arkavathi Volunteer

RC College Nss Students Cleaned One Spectrum (kalyani) In Channagiri Hill Near Nandhi Hills It also Youth Contri bution For Arkavathi Rejuvention

A Report By Shridhar Bangalore Mirror Reporter
Clean-up of old ‘kalyani’ pays rich dividends
Students kindle hope of Arkavathi flowing once again

• Toiling for 11 days atop Channagiri, a 46-member team from a city college has unearthed seven dormant feeder springs which are oozing water again
Sridhar.Vivan @timesgroup.com 


    When a group of 46 students embarked on an 11-day NSS camp in Februaryend, little did they know they would stumble upon a water source that was once the lifeline of Bangalore. It was a routine trip for the BCom and BBM students of the city-based R C College. They climbed Channarayaswamy Betta, aka Channagiri, next to Nandi Hills, with the intention of desilting an old pond (kalyani). Though Nandi Hills is the origin of the Arkavathi river, it is the stream from Channarayaswamy Betta that is a major feeder of the river.
    It was not an easy climb for the youngsters. Nandi Hills has a motorable road to the summit, but Channarayaswamy Betta does not even have a foot trail, and trekkers have to negotiate bushes and boulders on the way up. When they reached the top, the students were shocked to see the ‘kalyani’ filled with mud. NSS officer Tripura said the pond looked like a dumpyard, with plastic bags and other discarded items covering the entire area.
    The 46-strong group, of which as many as 22 were girls, began to clean up the pond with a vengeance, and did not let up for the next five days. They would have breakfast at their base camp at Doddarayappanahalli village, climb two kilometre to the summit and get on with the digging till late in the evening, when they would return to base camp.
    Their patience paid rich dividends. At end of the fifth day, one of the students noticed water bubbling up from a natural spring. Back at the scene the next day, they found the entire area filled with water. A pump was pressed into service to drain off the water, and at the end of 11 days of persevering labour, seven long-dormant springs had been unearthed. “The sight of the springs oozing water was an out-of-the-world experience,” one of the students said.
    The development is good news for all those who have been working towards the rejuvenation of the Arkavathi. A tributary of the Cauvery, the river had for long been a source of drinking water for Bangaloreans. Two reservoirs — Hesaraghatta and Chamarajasagara (Thippagondanahalli) — were built across the river in 1894 and 1933 respectively. The Hesaraghatta dam had a storage capacity of 997 million cubic feet and used to supply water to Bangalore. Later, the city started getting its water from Thippagondanahalli.
    Sadly, Hesaraghatta went completely dry a decade ago, while Thippagondanahalli has been hitting the dead storage level year after year. “The drying up of the Arkavathi has led to a water crisis in Bangalore. It has forced the water boards to depend on the Cauvery. There has been talks often to get water for the city from either Netravati or Almatti”, said Janardhan Kesargadde, an activist associated with the Arkavati and Kumudvati rivers rejuvenation committee.
    The rediscovery of seven springs at Channarayaswamy Betta may not mean that the river will start flowing again as it once did. But it is an eye-opener to how community efforts like that of the students can go a long way in rejuvenating the river. “What the students have done may seem small, but it is a significant step. It is high time all the stakeholders get together to bring back greenery in the catchment areas and clean up encroached lakes and ponds. Besides, the springs will provide sustenance to birds and animals in the area,” said Kesargadde.
    Another water expert, Vishwanath S, also lauded the work of the students. “We need to clean up all kalyanis and lakes and take the Arkavathi movement forward,” he said. According to him, around 10 lakes between Doddaballapur and Channarayaswamy Betta need to be cleaned up while around 50 lakes between Doddaballapur and Hesaraghatta need urgent restoration work.
    M R Seetharam, secretary of the rejuvenation committee and a watchdog-member of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, lamented the callous attitude of the public at large. “For many, the existing wells and kalyanis are nothing but dumping yards. You look at any well, you will see nothing but plastic and other discarded waste. This, at a time when the dependence on underground water sources is growing. There is a need to create awareness on a mass scale on lakes and cropping patterns. Even if we can create such awareness among 10 per cent of the people in the catchment areas, we can take this movement forward,” he said.


NEAR-DEAD TRIBUTARIES
The Arkavathi, which originates in the Nandi Hill ranges, joins the Cauvery at Sangama. The Kumudvathi and the Vrishabhavathi are its tributaries. While water level in the Kumudvathi has been dipping year after year, Vrishabhavathi which flows inside the Bangalore University campus has been reduced to a cesspool. Farmers suffer from skin allergies and cattle from edema. Villages in and around the Vrishbhavathi valley are plagued by pollution which has taken a toll on human health, crops and the ecology.






(Left) The pond looked like a dumpyard when the students first saw it, but following the clean-up act it got filled with water, oozing after years from feeder springs

Students drain out excess water from the pond



Its Great Work From Youth s

By  Arkavathi Yuva balaga

ಅರ್ಕಾವತಿ ವಾರ್ತಾ ಪತ್ರಿಕೆ ಅಕ್ಟೋಬರ್ - ಡಿಸೆಂಬರ್ 2011

ಅರ್ಕಾವತಿ ವಾರ್ತಾ ಪತ್ರಿಕೆ ಜುಲೈ- ಸೆಪ್ಟೆಂಬರ್ 2011

ಅರ್ಕಾವತಿ ವಾರ್ತಾ ಪತ್ರಿಕೆ 2011 ಏಪ್ರಿಲ್

ಈ ಫೋಟೋಗಳ ಮೇಲೆ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿದ್ರೆ ಓಪನ್ ಆಗುತ್ತೆ

ಆತ್ಮಿಯರೆ ಹೊಸ ಸುದ್ದಿಯ ಪ್ರಕಾರ ಅರ್ಕಾವತಿ ಮತ್ತು ಕುಮುದ್ವತಿ ನದಿಗಳ ಪುನಶ್ಚೇತನಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ೧೫.೯೫ ಕೋಟಿ  ಬಿಡುಗಡೆ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿದೆ  ಇಂತಹ ಸಂದರ್ಬದಲ್ಲಿ ನಾವುಗಳು ಕೇಳ್ದೆ ಹೋದ್ರೆ ಕೋಟಿಗಳು  ಬರ್ತವೆ ಕೋಟಿಗಳು ಹೋಗ್ತವೆ

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