BENGALURU: As summer sets in, tanks and ponds dry across the city and outskirts, but in striking contrast, once-dry stretches have turned green and water bodies are full as the process of recharging aquifers in the arid northern reaches of urban Bangalore right up to Chikkaballapura has started.
In a first, three dry tanks in Byatrayanpura are full. The Manchappanahalli-Arebinnamangala tank, Gopalpura Tank and Bagalur Tank have been filled with treated water supplied from Bengaluru.
Minister Dr. K Sudhakar, MLA from Chikkaballapura, said, “People laughed when I suggested this idea saying I was getting wastewater to these parts. But I did not give up as I had seen similar efforts in Singapore and other areas, and I persevered. Originally, it was conceived for Chikkaballapura, but other MLAs along the way too wanted it and that is how these lakes have been filled en route.’’
These netas have learnt their lessons from the loss of former union minister Veerappa Moily in the parliamentary elections. He lost mainly because his promise, made 10 years ago, of getting Yettinahole water to these parts has not yet materialised.
The project pumps secondary treated wastewater from Hebbal, Horamavu and Hennur to Gudibande at a cost of around Rs 1,000 crore. Officials said, “It will recharge 65 tanks in Chikkaballapura, Bangalore Rural and Bangalore North.’’
In 2016, the Siddaramaiah government had conceived this project to benefit parts of northern Bangalore all the way up to Kempegowda International Airport and beyond till Chikkaballapura.
The engineers have used Bangalore’s elevation to pump water over 115 km with a network of pumping stations and reservoirs.
In Gauribidanur, eight tanks will be filled up, in Devanhalli nine, in Gudibande three and in Siddalghatta nine, in addition to the 24 water bodies in Chikkaballapura.