BENGALURU: If things work according to plan, Kumudvathi river will start flowing again and cater to the needs of Bengaluru.
The Kumudvathi rejuvenation project, initiated by International Association for Human Values of Art of Living (AOL) and sponsored by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), was unveiled here on Sunday.
The rejuvenation work was carried out in Thyamagondlu and Mondigere.
K R Shettar, retired executive engineer, who is heading the project, said, “The project report stated that rainfall in the Kumudvathi river areas have remained consistent for a century. A hundred years ago, the annual rainfall 807.87mm, while 50 years ago, it was 848.08mm and 30 years ago, the rainfall was 819.43mm in the region. We are expecting the same numbers this year too.”
“All we need to do is save this water and recharge ground water and, over a period of the time, the wells will get connected all the way up to the TG Halli reservoir,” he added.
Dr Lingarju Yale, former director of Karnataka State Remote Sensing Application Centre, said, “In the past, the TG Halli reservoir was the main source of drinking water to Bengaluru city. However, presently Bengaluru doesn’t get water from it as it has not been getting sufficient inflow despite good rains over decades.”
Lingarju said rejuvenation was a long-term process that included construction of boulder checks to reduce erosion and increase soil moisture, construction of recharge wells and borwells to harvest rain water, creation of waterpools in the existing tanks to make the surface water available throughout the year and others.
Saplings are planted to allow the water to percolate into the ground and recharge the water table.
The rejuvenation project kicked off in 2013 with AOL collecting funds from companies, towards corporate social responsibility projects. In 2014, 34 boulder checks, 34 recharge wells, seven recharge borewells, 10 water pools and 5,000 saplings were planted.
The projects have covered Manne, Doddabele, Kodigehall, Thyamagondlu, Kalalghatta, Hasiruhalli, Budihal and Kuluvanahalli and Shivagange of Nelamangala taluk.
For better days to come
168 recharge wells
168 boulder checks
20 recharge borewells
25 water pools
10,000 saplings
RIVER SUTRA
The Kumudvathi River originates at the Shivagange Hills
It flows for 50km to reach TG Halli Reservoir
The river basin has a catchment area of 460sqkm covering 278 villages
223 tanks intercept the natural drainage network