Why is Bengaluru, a ‘Land of Thousand Lakes’ battling water crisis?

Posted on 24 Mar 2024

Bengaluru was once known for its cooler climes and its network of lakes which made it the favourite retirement abode. Once a green landscape, the transformation into the Silicon Valley of India led to rapid urbanization sans scientific planning, the destruction of water bodies thanks to rampant encroachment, and the uncontrolled extraction of ground water resources. The advent of climate change impact in recent years has seen the metropolis confronting an unprecedented water crisis months after being inundated by monsoon rains. Bengaluru’s plight is a wake up for Indian cities blindly in the pursuit of economic progress sans sustainable urban planning visions.

Images courtesy: MGIEP-UNESCO, Citizenmatters, Synergia Foundation, ConnectedtoIndia

It was one of the hottest days with the temperature soaring to more than 36°celsius, something that the residents of Bengaluru, who otherwise were accustomed to cooler weather conditions that the city had been famed for in the past, are grappling with these days. It could be the global warming or climate change that is often talked about, or is it something more – a man-made disaster?

My co-worker and I had stepped out for our regular walk post lunch, and navigating through some shades given by trees grown in our office campus, we reached the spot where we relax for a break. It is hot like hell, my colleague exclaimed. I agreed.

Bengaluru is getting from bad to worse, I thought last year was hot but considering this heat I feel last year was way better, she added.

You know, my colleague went on, last weekend I was riding my bike through the Bannerghatta Road in the southern tip of Bengaluru, I could feel the heat waves striking me as I was driving. They have widened the road which is fantastic for commuters and there are buildings, lots of them, but no trees.

Not far away, maybe just a couple of years ago, the stretch was dotted with trees and plants, the greenery has all but vanished, there’s a concrete jungle. And then we have the water problem, a friend of mine stays in one of those fancy high-rise apartments where the water comes only between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., and if you miss it then wait until the next day for water.

I offered my friend to come to my home and fill some cans to meet her basic needs in that fancy car that she drives. The offer irritated her. Well, things are ugly as of now with residents striving for water, and very soon we will be panting for oxygen the way we are chopping trees, she acclaimed.

Cool, cool Bangalore. No more!

Bangalore was known earlier as the city for retirees. It was calm and cool with large trees and perennial lakes and a manageable population density. Those were the years before the IT industry set up base followed by a rapid, and yetunplanned, urbanization that has come to define the Bengaluru of today. Those days, even ceiling fans were a luxury, whereas life in the urban jungle of today is unthinking without air conditioners, says Rajesh Babu, who has been living in the city since the early 1980s, while sharing with The Polity his memories of the transformed metropolis.

According to Siddaramaiah, the Chief Minister of Karnataka, Bengaluru is facing a shortage of about 500 million litres per day and the state government is trying to bring the situation under control. The city has not been receiving rainfall for a few months now and the dry spell has added to the woes of people. The going is tougher for residents in the high-rise apartments as borewells have dried up.

With Kaveri water being the only source of water apart from borewells, Bengaluru residents are switching to tanker services that are getting expensive as days pass. Water tankers which used to charge Rs 700 to 800 for 12,000 litres increased the rates to around Rs 1,500 to 1,800 and in many cases, Rs 2,000 as the city battles acute water shortages, a resident of Naagarabhaavi, who did not wish to be named, said.

Rapid urbanization and planning woes

Infrastructure development without proper planning, unchecked real estate constructions, unchecked deforestation, and destruction of lakes and other water bodies have led to this crisis, remarked Sunil Sherawat, a techie who had moved to the city from Panipat a decade ago. People who have shelled out more than Rs 2 crores to buy apartments in posh localities are staring at water shortage. Only property prices have kept increasing, nothing else has improved, he said.

Bengaluru gets about 1,450 million litres of water per day from the Kaveri River as piped water has not been abundant enough to meet the city’s needs. There are many areas where Kaveri connections have been given but due to water shortage, they are yet to receive the supply. There are areas where Kaveri connections are yet to reach, especially in many of the B-khata properties, which depend on borewells or water tankers.

Whereas the older parts of Bengaluru such as Jayanagar, for instance, have good groundwater levels, the newer ones added recently to Bengaluru are facing acute water shortages, says a prominent water activist, who did not want to be named. High-rise apartments, villas and individual houses have come up in these regions without strict adherence to environmental norms, he remarked.

Piped water is available only in the older parts of Bengaluru not in the new ones which were added to the city limits from 2007 onwards, a Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) official said on condition of anonymity. In fact, Dr A. Ravindra, the former chairman of Bangalore Development Authority said while speaking to the media recently had confirmed that groundwater exploitation has become uncontrollable due to the rapid real estate developments.

Where have the lakes disappeared?

Bengaluru was discovered by the British in the eighteenth century when they were ruling India. An officer who was assigned on duty to find an alternative route between Madras and Srirangapatna by Cornwallis, the Governor General of British India, described the city as the Land of Thousand Lakes. Today, all those lakes have more or less disappeared with many of the remaining ones storing sewage wastewater.

The cascading lakes founded by Kempe Gowda, who is credited as the founder of Bengaluru, had helped inhabitants meet their water needs for centuries and these lakes served a purpose.

Interestingly, Bengaluru lies at an elevation of around 3,000 feet from sea level and does not have a major river in the city limits. Kings who ruled the region constructed lakes and freshwater tanks besides trees which gave good rainfall.

The city’s active water bodies such as Hebbal, Vrushabhavathi, Koramangala, Challaghatta, etc. that flow outwards are not sufficient to meet the water demands, says resident association office bearers. “We have to construct lakes, ensure that factories do not dump industrial waste in existing ones, stop high-rise constructions, and cultivate more trees to mitigate the situation. As this happens Bengaluru will once again be back to its glory as in days of yore,” feel these residents.

The l akes built by Kempe Gowda which were interlinked with each other to ensure that no water is wasted played a crucial role in harvesting rainwater, recharging groundwater, supporting agriculture, and providing livelihoods to generations. It was for these lakes that the city became famous for its pleasant climate.

Some major reservoirs such as Ulsoor Lake, Miller's Tank and Hesarghatta Lake built in the nineteenth century are great examples to emulate. Ulsoor Lake for instance was the hub of agricultural activities. However, the health of most of these reservoirs is deteriorating with time.

The race to compete with Silicon Valley resulted in unchecked encroachment and pollution of lakes as a result of which the water arteries of Bengaluru began choking. “Cutting of trees, conversions of open areas and parks into commercial and residential settlements besides exponential population growth are continuing to destroy the Garden City,” the water activist lamented.

Commenting on what could be the possible solutions, Raghav, a Bengaluru resident, said that the Supreme Court needs to take suo motto action, pull up the government and take to task the culprits responsible for this crisis. “They need to take one of the survey maps of Bengaluru from the 1930s, compare it with the one now and gauge how much damage has been done. If there’s a way to restore the lakes then that must be done at the earliest. The court should fix a timeline for the results which needs to be strictly adhered to with the progress made in this direction being reported on a timely basis so that the general public is aware of what is happening,” Raghav remarked.

If we continue to leave it neglected, whatever little is left will also vanish quickly. Bengaluru needs its thousand lakes which are critical for its future generations to experience what the Garden City is like, he added.

Climate change and abject urbanization – a dreaded combo

Climate change is a prominent factor which is affecting nations worldwide and India has not been alone in being hit by its varied dimensions. However, the water crises in Bengaluru cannot be solely attributed to the impact ofclimate change or hot summers alone.

Considerable blame must be placed on the lack of civic planning, according to urban planners who were reluctant to be identified owing to their official positions with the BBMP and other governmental agencies. They uniformly point out the fact that water levels have heavily gone down due to the high-rise apartments and buildings which are constructed on agricultural land and once vegetative terrains that dotted the city.

A professor at a leading university in Bengaluru, said on the condition of anonymity, pointed to the impenetrable layer of plastic residue as a reason for blocking the formation of natural underground rainwater reservoirs in the city.

In the developed parts of the world including in Europe and America and some parts of Asia, respective governments have set up institutions that systematically assess water resources and implement corrective and redemptive measures. Residential association leaders felt that authorities such as the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), the Karnataka Ground Water Authority, and Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), should act in a similar fashion to create lastingsolutions in the metropolis.

India too has been experiencing a decline in monsoon rainfall for about 50 years and the rise in the world’s average temperature has had a cascading effect on India making monsoons highly unpredictable. The changes have triggered frequent droughts as well as flooding in various parts of India. The country depends heavily on rain and ground water sources for its agriculture and water which is getting depleted in the face of sustained pressure from the burgeoning population and commercial impulses.

Hydropower and thermal power generation depend largely on water supplies. Thermal power plants for instance need a continuous supply of fresh water to maintain their cooling systems. Decreases in water flow from rivers pose a risk to hydropower plants besides other natural disasters like landslides, glacial lake outbursts, etc. Hence, projects need to be well planned keeping in view the potential climate risks that loom at large, the professor pointed out.

Globally, all regions are experiencing warming, rising sea levels, and shrinking glaciers. A recent report by the World Meteorological Organization stated the year 2023 as one of the hottest ever recorded with disturbing phenomena like ocean heat, sea level rise and Antarctic Sea ice loss and glacier retreat being of significant evidence. The WMO report also identified the shift to renewable energy as one of the possible solutions to mitigate the situation, and the sooner the better.

Published in partnership with The Polity.

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