This paper by AR Shivakumar of the Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology (KSCST), presented at a national seminar organised by ISRO at NIAS Bangalore in 2010, begins by highlighting the increasing problem of scarcity of water that the city of Bangalore has been experiencing in recent years and suggests a required plan of action for a sustainable water supply system in the city.
The paper highlights the grave water situation in the city where the water demand is ever on the increase with the increasing population. Borewells are being dug indiscriminately all throughout the city at rapid rates that are endangering the groundwater levels.
In addition to two lakes, water from the Cauvery is being pumped into the city by Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), the official water provider in the city. Water from the unorganized sector is also supplied through tankers, bottles, bore wells to the city to meet the water demands of the population.
High cost of water for the poor is also one of the problems that the people from the city have to face, with citizens from higher income groups paying a lesser rate for water and getting better quality water while citizens of lesser income group having to pay much higher rates for water and getting poorer quality water.
The document argues for the urgent need to adopt rainwater harvesting techniques with the support of BWSSB and all stakeholders to improve the availability of water and also help in equitable distribution of water to all the sections of the society. The document suggests a twelve point plan of action for a sustainable water management strategy for emerging Greater Bangalore.
The document concludes by highlighting the success story of Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology (KSCST) in the field of Rain Water Harvesting (RWH). KSCST has established RWH in twenty landmark buildings and four exhibition plots in Bangalore and Tumkur, in order to demonstrate cost effective and sustainable RWH and groundwater recharge technologies.
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