BENGALURU: A number of residents of Mahadevapura and a retail store there will install rain water harvesting facilities, thanks to the efforts of the Water Warriors Awareness Campaign that was started a few weeks ago.
Meenakshi Ravikrishna who has spearheaded the campaign in the locality says that she was contacted by a few people from the area to conduct such awareness drives. “We brought experts, technicians who were able to demonstrate how to install such a facility. A number of these areas rely on water tankers for their water supply or borewells,” she says.
Highlighting the dire water situation in the area, Shameer Mohammed from Friends of Mahadevapura, a residents’ collective, says, “One needs upto 1000 feet below to get any kind of groundwater. Most of these borewells are however dry. Beyond 1,500 feet ,the water is not potable. There is Cauvery water, but the supply is also scarce. Most of the apartments in the area use water tankers that are quite expensive,” says Shameer.
The awareness drive reached as many as 700 people in the area and also went to a few localities nearby such as AECS Layout on Old Airport Road.
Shivashanker M is the store manager at the retail store More, that has agreed to stall rainwater harvesting facilities. “We had a very small arrangement to store water, but now with the awareness drive, we have agreed to put in place a more comprehensive facility. Our daily usage of water is to the tune of 20,000 liters that comes from a borewell. However, over the past few days, there has either been no or very little water,” says Shivashanker.
The store also uses the services of water tankers very frequently. “With no rain in the borewells, we have no choice but to rely on the tankers. We want to connect the rainwater facility to the borewell so that it is quickly replenished. At the same time we will use the water directly,” he adds. The Water Warriors campaign is an initiative of a group of individuals from BPAC.