Lack of rainfall
The IT hub is facing a serious water problem, mainly because of a severe drought. There hasn't been enough rain, which has caused the water levels in the Cauvery River to drop. This shortage doesn't just affect drinking water but also impacts irrigation. Additionally, borewells in Bengaluru are drying up because of the lack of rain in recent months.
Central areas ‘manageable’, outskirts in crisis
The Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), which supplies drinking water to the tech hub, states that while the situation is manageable in central areas, it's very serious in the city's outskirts.
How is the government trying improve the situation?
To deal with the water shortage, the state government plans to use milk tankers from Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) to deliver water to Bengaluru. They will also take control of private borewells in and around the city. Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar discussed this during a meeting with various agencies including BBMP, BWSSB, and the police. Owners of water tankers have until Thursday to register them with the government, which will then take over all tankers in the city.
More demand, more the price
People in Bengaluru are saying that water tanker operators are taking advantage of the water shortage and charging very high prices. Previously, a 1000-liter water tanker would cost between ₹600 to ₹800, but now it's more than ₹2000.
Cauvery project, phase 5
In the 2024-2025 budget speech, CM Siddaramaiah announced that the BWSSB would start Phase-5 of the Cauvery project, aiming to provide 110 liters of drinking water daily to 12 lakh people at a cost of Rs 5,550 crore. This project is expected to be completed by May 2024. The water shortage issue in the 110 villages added to BBMP in 2008 will be solved once the Cauvery V Stage work is done, according to reports.
More about the project
The Phase-5 project will also include underground drainage works, which are scheduled to be finished by December 2024. This involves laying 228 km of drainage pipeline and building 13 sewage treatment plants capable of treating 100 MLD of sewage water. *MLD: megaliters per day
State of the Cauvery basin
As per information from the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Management Centre (KSNDMC), the water levels in Cauvery Basin reservoirs like Harangi, Hemavathi, KRS, and Kabini are at 39 percent of their total capacity as of February 28. The total capacity of these reservoirs is 114.57 TMC, and currently, they hold about 44.65 TMC of water. Last year at the same time, these reservoirs had around 64.61 TMC of water. *TMC: Thousand Million Cubic feet