<p>Bengaluru: A new study on the state of the Vrishabhavathi river has raised serious concerns about its deteriorating condition, warning that pollution in the waterway has implications not only for the downstream ecology, but also for the food consumed by people in <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/bengaluru">Bengaluru</a>.</p>.<p>The report — State of Vrishabhavathi (2016–2025): River Condition, Public Health, and the Rs 391-crore Reboot — released by the research platform Mapping Malnad, examines the river’s condition over nearly a decade and evaluates government efforts aimed at restoring the heavily polluted waterway.</p>.<p>According to the study, untreated sewage and industrial effluents continue to dominate the river’s flow. It identifies industrial clusters such as Kumbalgodu, Byramangala and Bidadi as significant contributors of toxic discharge.</p>.Bengaluru’s ‘thousand lakes’ legacy faces water quality crisis.<p>One of the key observations highlighted in the study relates to trade effluent sampled from a tanker that was physically intercepted while dumping waste directly into the river.</p>.<p>The sample recorded a Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) level of 69,000 mg/L. For context, any surface water body registering a COD level above 25 mg/L is considered polluted. The tanker was carrying effluent with a COD level nearly 2,760 times higher than that threshold.</p>.<p>The study notes that such incidents indicate that the scale of pollution entering the river is rarely reflected in official records.</p>.<p>Researchers say the degraded condition of the river affects not only Bengaluru, but also villages and water bodies downstream, where the polluted water is often used for irrigation. Crops such as vegetables, paddy, baby corn and cattle fodder are cultivated using water drawn from the river in the downstream command areas.</p>.<p>The study also examines the state government’s Rs 391-crore plan to revive Byramangala Lake, a major water body fed by the Vrishabhavathi. The project proposes the construction of a sewage treatment plant, desilting of the lake, and restoration of embankments to prevent polluted inflows.</p>.<p>However, the researchers question whether such engineering interventions alone can restore the river system without addressing the larger issue of sewage generation and pollution upstream in Bengaluru. The study emphasises the need for stronger enforcement, describing it as the foundation of effective pollution prevention and control.</p>.<p>“When pollution is redirected downstream, bypassing the reservoir — to Kanakapura and to farmers in the Harobele dam command area — it becomes an injustice. They are burdened with a problem they did not create and whose magnitude they may not fully grasp,” the report states.</p>
<p>Bengaluru: A new study on the state of the Vrishabhavathi river has raised serious concerns about its deteriorating condition, warning that pollution in the waterway has implications not only for the downstream ecology, but also for the food consumed by people in <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/bengaluru">Bengaluru</a>.</p>.<p>The report — State of Vrishabhavathi (2016–2025): River Condition, Public Health, and the Rs 391-crore Reboot — released by the research platform Mapping Malnad, examines the river’s condition over nearly a decade and evaluates government efforts aimed at restoring the heavily polluted waterway.</p>.<p>According to the study, untreated sewage and industrial effluents continue to dominate the river’s flow. It identifies industrial clusters such as Kumbalgodu, Byramangala and Bidadi as significant contributors of toxic discharge.</p>.Bengaluru’s ‘thousand lakes’ legacy faces water quality crisis.<p>One of the key observations highlighted in the study relates to trade effluent sampled from a tanker that was physically intercepted while dumping waste directly into the river.</p>.<p>The sample recorded a Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) level of 69,000 mg/L. For context, any surface water body registering a COD level above 25 mg/L is considered polluted. The tanker was carrying effluent with a COD level nearly 2,760 times higher than that threshold.</p>.<p>The study notes that such incidents indicate that the scale of pollution entering the river is rarely reflected in official records.</p>.<p>Researchers say the degraded condition of the river affects not only Bengaluru, but also villages and water bodies downstream, where the polluted water is often used for irrigation. Crops such as vegetables, paddy, baby corn and cattle fodder are cultivated using water drawn from the river in the downstream command areas.</p>.<p>The study also examines the state government’s Rs 391-crore plan to revive Byramangala Lake, a major water body fed by the Vrishabhavathi. The project proposes the construction of a sewage treatment plant, desilting of the lake, and restoration of embankments to prevent polluted inflows.</p>.<p>However, the researchers question whether such engineering interventions alone can restore the river system without addressing the larger issue of sewage generation and pollution upstream in Bengaluru. The study emphasises the need for stronger enforcement, describing it as the foundation of effective pollution prevention and control.</p>.<p>“When pollution is redirected downstream, bypassing the reservoir — to Kanakapura and to farmers in the Harobele dam command area — it becomes an injustice. They are burdened with a problem they did not create and whose magnitude they may not fully grasp,” the report states.</p>
