BENGALURU: Nearly 370 million litres per day of treated water being sent to Kolar district from the Koramangala-Challaghatta (KC) Valley in Bengaluru is proving to be a gamechanger, particularly for farmers. With tanks dry and the groundwater available only at below 300 feet over a year ago, the district is now in much better shape on the water front.
With secondary treated water being supplied from the KC Valley Project for the last 18 months, 81 out of 126 tanks in Kolar are brimming with water, explains T Rajendiran, Accredited Consultant, Central Ground Water Authority. Rajendiran, who visited Narasapura recently to witness the state of the tanks, added that the availability of water was making a big difference to the lives of farmers.
“A farmer used to spend up to Rs 5 lakh to sink a borewell with the hope of finding water. Often, the water used to dry up very soon and he would be left with a huge debt to repay. This situation has now passed. This move needs to be emulated across the country to solve the problem of dry borewells and poor groundwater levels,” he added. Concurring with Rajendiran, a Minor Irrigation department official said the rise in water table has opened up better agriculture options.
“Farmers used to raise eucalyptus trees as they don’t require water regularly. Of late, the farmes have switched to cultivating tomato, beans and radish among other vegetables as they are sure the daily water needs can b e m e t , ” he said. B C Gangadhar, BWSSB Chief Engineer for waste water management, said, “This was possible due to four STPs operating to treat water at KC Valley. One STP treats 218 MLD of water while the others treat 90 MLD, 60 MLD and 30 MLD each.
We planned to supply up to 398 MLD, but due to sludge and the biggest STP being an old one, we are managing slightly lesser quantity.” Another 90 MLD of treated water was being supplied to Chikkaballapur through a different project, he added. Rajendiran said a move to go in for tertiary treatment and supplying water to Naraspura Industrial Area is in the offing.