‘Bengaluru can be water surplus, if we manage it well’

Bengaluru : Atop scientist of the Indian Institute of Science Bengaluru Dr. TV Ramachandran, has expressed reservations against the proposed water lift project in Linganamakki and Meke Daatu to Bengaluru and said it will be an environmental disaster.

He was speaking at a dialogue organised at the Gandhi Bhavan by the organisation known as ‘We are for Environment’ on Monday. Dr. Ramachandran said Bengaluru has enough water within its boundary. The city gets not less than 750 to 800 MM annually, which means over 15 TMC rainwater could be harnessed for domestic uses by adopting water conservation methods like rainwater harvesting and incitu percolation. The city has water bodies that hold 16 TMC water annually and underground water sources.

“So we are looking at ready water availability of 31 TMC within Bengaluru for all domestic purposes, As we discuss, the consumption of water in Bengaluru annually is to the tune of only 18 TMC, which means Bengaluru city is in a position to be water surplus within the next one year if we scientifically analyse and launch prudent water management traits,” he added. He said bringing water from interbasin water transfer to Bengaluru from Linganamakki and construction of a ‘buffering dam’ at Meke Daatu by destroying large areas of green cover will only be detrimental to the environment for no perceptive gains.

He said by taking up projects like rejuvenation and restoration of water bodies in the city, dependence on water from other areas can be minimised to a large extent. He gave the instances of lakes such as Jakkur, and Bellanduru that are in grievous condition and need to be restored to hold more water and also management.

“The desilted material from the lakes need not be a matter of great concern. In the recent past, the desilted material from Jakkur Lake was distributed to the nearby farms, Due to the high biomaterial present in the material, the local farmers have benefitted to a great extent and are reaping good yields in their farms”. The restoration work of Bellanduru and Varthur lakes are not going on at the expected pace or to the expected results.

The Meke Daatu project proposed across the Cauvery River at the southernmost point of Karnataka’s geographical jurisdiction is feared to destroy at least 5000 hectares of evergreen forests. “In environmental terms, such large extents of forests can hold 100 TMC of water annually. Instead, we are looking at destroying the forests and constructing a concrete dam that can hold only 45 TMC of water, which does not make sense. He added.

He said the project to bring water from Linganamakki to Bengaluru was nothing short of an environmental disaster, and I for one, oppose the project till my last breath, he added.