M'lore varsity campus to go for rainwater harvesting: VC

Though the total quantity of water on earth remains unchanged, the quantity of potable water is decreasing. In many Indian villages, people literally battle over a pot of drinking water. Many lakes have been polluted and there is no space for rainwater to get absorbed in the soil, which is the main reason for the depleting levels of surface water.

With rain water harvesting, surface water levels could be improved, along with ground water levels, said Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology Scientist and technology promoter A R Shivkumar.

 He was delivering a special lecture on ‘Cost effectiveness and simple solutions for water conservation’, during the launch of rainwater harvesting programme, organised by Mangalore University Environment Pollution Control Committee and Department of Biosciences at Mangalagangothri on Tuesday.

The best formula for rainwater harvest is ‘Catch the water wherever it falls’. Various methods such as roof top run off and direct water collection could be followed towards RWH, he further said.

Shivakumar demonstrated several success stories of rainwater harvesting, initiated by Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology in rural areas of Koppal and Tumkur and said that in the areas, rainwater is being used for drinking and cooking purposes as well. The health ailments caused due to the drinking of fluoride water drawn from borewells, is seen less in the villages now. The rainwater is the purest form of water compared to any other purified water. Only it needs proper arrangement with simple infrastructure, Shivkumar said.

The RWH has been implemented in BBMP limits in a large scale. Establishments like Vidhana Soudha and Agricultural University are the best examples of rainwater harvesting, he said and added that 700 parks in Bangalore are successfully recharging ground water.

Highlighting the need for the preservation of rain water, Vice Chancellor T C Shivashankara Murthy in his presidential address said that rain water harvesting will be implemented in the University campus in a vast scale. There are two water storage plants in the campus and the third one will be built in future. All the three plants will be devoted towards rainwater harvesting, he added.

A booklet on rainwater harvesting was released on the occasion.

Mangalore University Science and Technology faculty Dean Prof M Rajashekhar, KSCST Bangalore Executive Secretary Dr M Prithviraj, IISc Professor Dr A Perumal were present.