The British High Commission has come forward to extend its technical assistance to rejuvenate Arkavathy river, once a major source of drinking water to Bangalore city, on the lines of River Thames in London.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Water Resources Minister M B Patil said that while his department had a Rs 22 crore rejuvenation proposal, the actual requirement was more.
Recently, the British High Commissioner had called upon the principal secretary to the Water Resources Department and agreed to extend consultative support to develop Arkavathy river. “They will assist in mapping the river route and tell us what needs to be done for its rejuvenation. The Asian Development Bank and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) have also come forward to fund the Detailed Project Report (DPR) and consultancy. Once the DPR is ready, we will present it before international agencies for funding.” He said the total catchment area of the river is around 6,000 hectares and the length is approximately 80 km. Satellite images will be taken to identify the course of the river and clear bottlenecks en route.
“Untreated sewage water and effluents from industries are diverted into Arkavathy. This river, once revived, will become an important sources of water,” he said