Bengaluru To Be Running Out of Ground Water in 2 Years : Experts say No Need to Panic!?

BENGALURU: A Niti Aayog report has stated and warned that Bengaluru will run out of groundwater by 2020, even though it is placed in Karnataka among the top five states on its composite water management index.“Most states have achieved less than 50% of total score in augmentation of groundwater resources.

Fifty four per cent of India’s groundwater wells are showing a decline in levels due to extraction rates exceeding recharge rates and 21 major cities are expected to run out of groundwater as early as 2020, affecting 100 million people,” the Niti Aayog Composite Water Management Index report states

Najeeb K Mohammed, the former member secretary of Central Ground Water Authority, said: “If the trend of exploitation continues, the projection will soon come true. The flood drought system has become frequent now and no one is bothering to understand why.”

Pointing out that Bengaluru has turned into a dry concrete jungle that does not allow rainwater to percolate into the ground and recharge the groundwater table, he urged the elected representatives to become water literate.

“Awareness among citizens is there, but not enough to use recycled water for non-potable purposes. Bengaluru needs a massive people’s movement to save its lakes, recharge groundwater through rainwater harvesting systems and recycle waste water to the maximum capacity,” he said.Some experts, however, felt there’s “no need to panic yet,” but stressed the need to act immediately to prevent such a situation

S Vishwanath, who founded the Rain Water Club, said: “We must rejuvenate lakes and reuse waste water efficiently. A lot needs to be done on waste water use. We need a single body to look at urban water management. Multiple agencies handling water and the lake development authority lack teeth.”