‘KC Valley project doing more harm than good to Kolar’

The Koramangala-Challaghatta (KC) Valley project was neither planned nor executed well, according to a former scientist with the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB).

Under the project, sewage water from Bengaluru's polluted lakes is treated and discharged into waterbodies in the parched districts of Kolar and Chikkaballapur. The idea was to recharge the groundwater table and fill up lakes in the districts. But the project is doing more harm than good.

Speaking at a seminar here on Saturday, V S Prakash, who was earlier associated with the CGWB, said the state government had worsened the situation by poorly executing such an important project. "There is an acute scarcity of water in these districts and it's the government's responsibility to provide clean water," he added.

According to Dr Prakash, governmental agencies did not do proper research on the environment surrounding stormwater drains in Bengaluru, through which contaminated water enters lakes. This water, without being properly treated, is being let into lakes in Kolar and Chikkaballapur. "It's become a nightmare for people of the two districts," he noted. "The government must do something about it."

The event was attended by farmers and women from Kolar, Chikkaballapur and Bengaluru Rural districts. They spoke about how their problems have multiplied with the KC Valley project.

Sushma Srinivas, a resident of Chikkaballapur, summed up their plight. "We do not get water even if we dig 2,000 feet. The government executed this project without the consent of local farmers. The contaminated water is only adding to our problems," he said.