Prevent frequent droughts in Karnataka

There’s so much written about the water crisis in Bengaluru and in most towns and taluks across Karnataka that it seems like there’s nothing more to say.

I feel a sense of déjà vu, as I have written about the water shortages and power outages that Bengaluru and Karnataka face every summer for ever so long. Almost faithfully, we repeat the same mistakes every summer, taking no effort to mitigate the effects of climate change, and end up taking short-term measures to manage the crisis and hoping for early and pre-monsoon rains to save the state — a yearly summer crisis that we can avoid if we put in place long-term measures. Harvest rainwater, recharge groundwater sources, treat and recycle waste water, and rejuvenate the existing lakes. All of which conservationists, activists, citizen forums, and the media have reiterated again and again. So what else is new, one might ask? 

Towards the end of last year itself, there were media reports about 223 of the 236 taluks being declared drought-hit. Crop loss stands at 48 lakh hectares of land under cultivation, with a rainfall deficit in catchment areas. The water levels, being monitored on a daily basis, continue to dip dangerously in Karnataka’s 23 reservoirs. 

In 2016–17, Karnataka faced the worst drought in 42 years, and it looks like history is repeating itself. It almost seems like drought has been following Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who was the CM then too. 

It is a well-known truism that cities and towns need to be developed around water sources, and once upon a time, like all fairy tales begin, Bengaluru’s founders envisaged the needs of a growing city and dug nearly 1,000 lakes around Bengaluru. But like all fairy tale endings, this too ended with unbridled growth, where entire layouts were built over erstwhile lakes. The remaining ones were beset with encroachment; sewage and industrial waste were seeping into the lakes, and weeds overtook the rest. For years now, conservationists, activists, and lake champions have been pressing for rejuvenating the existing lakes. 

According to the lakes department section of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) website, 167 lakes in Bengaluru are under the BBMP’s custody. Of these, 65 lakes have been developed — these include Sankey Tank, Ulsoor, Yediyur, and Jakkur; 28 lakes are under work in progress, including Ibblur, Gottigere, Sarakki, and Horamavu Agara; 55 lakes are under lakes-to-be developed, and these include Kaggadasapura, Hulimavu, Nagarbhavi, and Konanakunte lakes; and about 19 lakes are placed under the header lakes being used for other purposes’ 

The fact that 65 lakes have been developed is good news.  What is also reassuring is that the work that went into rejuvenating Jakkur Lake is often showcased as an example by conservationists to show what collective action can achieve in improving the lake ecosystem and bringing back green cover and migratory birds. 

According to the BBMP website, “unplanned development in the area surrounding the lake had led to solid waste filling its feeder channels. This choked the natural watershed so much that the lake resembled a dumping yard.” Desilting, construction of bunds and pathways, fencing, recharging, wastewater treatment, and tree plantations were some of the interventions taken up. But this summer, Jakkur and other rejuvenated lakes too have witnessed depleted water levels. 

What was achieved in Jakkur Lake shows how government bodies, conservationists, activists, and citizens’ forums can work together to bring about positive change. Jakkur Lake should be a model that is replicated to rejuvenate the nearly 36,000 lakes and tanks in
Karnataka, replenish groundwater resources, mitigate climate change, and fight the frequent droughts that plague the state. 

Meanwhile, the BWSSB’s proposal to replenish dried-up lakes with treated water has met with resistance from experts, who state that this could end up contaminating groundwater and cause health hazards, as observed in Kolar and Chikkaballapur, where this process contaminated the groundwater.

Finally, it’s only a proactive collective that can restore our lakes’ right to breathe. 

(The writer is a journalist and author)