BENGALURU: Bengaluru is a city of great potential, but there are serious issues in terms of basic needs like clean drinking water. In the last 20 years, the city has lost a lot of its green cover to concrete jungles. When I first came here in the late ‘90s, there were so many lakes and water bodies, which I don’t see anymore. Nowadays, the most common complaint in the city is lack of water. With many having to purchase water often, tankers are a common sight. A study even declared that Bengaluru was going the Cape Town way in terms of running out of drinking water due to lack of proper planning and population explosion.
While the lockdown has seen the city heal, there is a need for serious action from both the government and citizens at large. There are three important aspects that need to be considered here. First, we should look at deforestation and natural issues causing low rainfall.
The demand for offices and buildings should not be fulfilled at the cost of cutting trees, and reducing farmlands and forests. Though there are short-term benefits to the economy due to the boom in real estate, the long-term impact on nature can be catastrophic. Because the green cover is getting depleted, Bengaluru is getting warmer. Lakes need to be revived seriously, and mindless and unplanned construction of buildings should be curbed.
The second suggestion is that the government establishes water treatment and de-salination plants. World over there are good technologies available which can be deployed here too. This will help satisfy the growing demand of water in the city. And lastly, citizens should help by deploying rain water harvesting and water conversation techniques at home.
SOLUTION: In the coming years, I would like to see Bengaluru as an example of a city that solved its water crisis by strategically implementing some of the best available eco-friendly methods. I hope more people get aware of recharge wells, and the government and the citizens come together for converting dry borewells into groundwater recharging wells. Finding a holistic solution for the water problem is a collective responsibility.