Claims of water sufficiency by July this year are ‘irresponsible, ’says T V Ramachandra

Chandra Prabhu | NT

Bengaluru: Around 39 out of 40 taluks in the basin of Cauvery river are drought hit.

The claims of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) of having sufficient water by July this year shows how irresponsible they are,” said T V Ramachandra, coordinator of the Energy and Wetlands Research groups in the Indian Institute of Science (IIsc) This comes after the bold claims made last week by chairman of the BWSSB Ram Prasath Manohar, of a water sufficient Bengaluru by July this year.

Bengaluru faces a deficit of 500 million litres a day (MLD), due to a failed monsoon and the failure of bore wells in the city.

Reports suggest that people have taken the brunt of the scarcity, amidst a rise in temperature. Manohar told News Trail that the commissioning of Cauvery Stage V and the monsoon showers will help them achieve sufficiency.

“The reservoirs have reported alarmingly very low levels of water, a rosy picture is shown by the Chairman,” Ramachandra stressed.

He also pointed out how the authorities are not focusing on the present, and rather mislead people towards the future.

“It’s about mitigating solutions, rather than giving bold claims for the future,” he added.

Previously a member of the National Green Tribunal (NGT)’s monitoring committee, Ramachandra cites the concretisation and the resultant loss of forest cover as the key reason for Bengaluru’s plight at present.

“There has been a 1555 percent increase in buildings, added with the loss of 79 percent of water bodies,” Ramachandra said.

The BWSSB, in a move to revive the groundwater table, had reportedly aimed to fill 14 lakes with secondary treated water.

“It’s a sign of emergency. Although it mitigates shortterm problems, the long-term solution is the rejuvenation of lakes, including desilting and enforcing rain water harvesting mechanisms in buildings,” Ramachandra signed off.