New study warns of water crisis in 80 B'luru wards by Feb 2025, expected to escalate in March-April
Bengaluru: A new study has raised alarms over a looming water crisis in over 80 wards in Bengaluru, especially in its peripheral areas, including K R Puram and Mahadevapura.
The study, conducted by the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and cited by Deccan Herald on Tuesday, revealed that groundwater levels are set to decline as early as February 2025, with conditions expected to worsen further in March and April.
It mentioned that 110 villages located beyond the Outer Ring Road (ORR) are projected to experience a significant drop of 20 to 25 meters in groundwater levels. Although areas within the ORR will also be impacted, they rely less on groundwater due to a more stable supply of piped water.
The 80 wards most at risk depend heavily on borewells to meet their water needs, drawing approximately 800 million litres of water daily. This is due to the BWSSB’s incomplete water distribution network in these regions.
Few of the critical wards include Konankunte, T Dasarahalli, V Nagenahalli, Horamavu, Ramamurthy Nagar, Kammanahalli, Kadugondanahalli and Jakkur.
The urgency of the situation follows last year’s harsh summer, which highlighted the city's growing water scarcity challenges. In response, the BWSSB established a special task force consisting of IISc scientists and officials from both state and central groundwater development departments, DH stated.
Over the course of six months, the task force analysed water supply data and groundwater levels to develop a sustainable action plan to address the crisis.
BWSSB Chairman Dr Ram Prasath Manohar emphasised the importance of reducing reliance on borewells, especially in high-risk wards, and encouraged residents to switch to Cauvery water connections. He mentioned the increased availability of water under the Cauvery Stage V project, DH added.
However, despite these efforts, residents in some areas are still without Cauvery connections due to the lack of feeder and sub-feeder lines.
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Kejriwal responds to EC, says water received from Haryana 'extremely poisonous' for human health
New Delhi (PTI): AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday responded to the Election Commission notice over his claim the Haryana government was "mixing poison" in Yamuna, and said raw water received from the BJP-ruled state in the recent past has been "highly contaminated and extremely poisonous" for human health.
In the 14-page reply to the Election Commission, the former Delhi chief minister said if such "toxic water" is allowed to be consumed by human population it would lead to grave health hazard and fatality.
Kejriwal said he only wanted to highlight the "urgent public health crisis" due to the quality of drinking water in the city, and he violated no law or Model Code of Conduct, hence the issue should be closed.
He said the "alleged statements" attributed to him were made as it was his public duty to red flag the "severe toxicity and contamination" of raw water received from the BJP-ruled state.
Following a complaint filed by the BJP over the matter, the Election Commission issued the notice to Kejriwal on Tuesday, giving him time till Wednesday 8 pm to furnish his reply.
Kejriwal also said the ammonia level in raw water received from Haryana was so "extreme" that water treatment plants in Delhi are unable to process and bring it down to safe and permissible limits for human consumption.
Following their party chief's response, the AAP issued a statement, saying, "It is an undisputed fact that there is 7 ppm ammonia in Yamuna water, A Delhi Jal Board CEO letter admits toxicity is 700 percent higher than the permissible limit."
In his response to the EC, Kejriwal also alleged that Haryana's "failure" in controlling pollution in Yamuna has resulted in an "unprecedented public health crisis" in Delhi. He alleged "indiscriminate" discharge of industrial waste in the river by the state.
The AAP supremo said Haryana is an upper-riparian state and Delhi, ruled by his party, has no role to play in the high level of toxic water being made available to the city.
"Due to such high level of toxic content in the raw water supplied by Haryana, the water treatment plants in Delhi are operating below capacity and there is a shortage of treated water in Delhi," he claimed.
Saying that access to clean water is a basic human right, the AAP chief asserted that raising this critical issue cannot be considered an offence.
"The said statement by no stretch of the imagination can be termed inciting enmity between different groups or prejudicial to national integration," he said.
On the contrary, the substance and purpose of these statements are rooted solely in the public interest, aimed at highlighting a legitimate civic concern that requires urgent institutional intervention, he asserted.
He requested the EC to intervene in the matter and issue appropriate directions to Haryana so safe water is made available to the people of Delhi.
