The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Oxfam joins NGOs in campaign to save Arkavathy

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 12, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Oxfam joins NGOs in campaign to save Arkavathy

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE, MAY 11. Oxfam India has joined hands with a number of local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to save the Arkavathy river and its catchment areas from encroachments and pollution.

A dam was constructed on the river in the 1930s to create the Thippagondanahalli reservoir which was one of the main sources of drinking water for Bangalore (along with the Hessaraghatta Lake) till the Cauvery water supply projects were commissioned. Arkavathi originates in the Nandi Hills and joins the Cauvery at the Sangama near Kanakapura.

Rajendra Singh, Oxfam India vice-president, said here on Monday that the water crisis in Bangalore was caused and compounded by the mismanagement of water resources and pollution of water by both by industry and agriculture. "The misuse and neglect of the Arkavathi river is one such glaring example,'' he added.

Among those assisting Oxfam in the Save Arkavathi campaign are the Citizens Forum (a group of people from villages along the river), Dalit Sangarsha Samithi, Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangh, Samvadha, and Bangalore Ecowatch of environmentalist Suresh Heblikar.

These organisations are concerned about the damage caused to the river and its catchment areas from Nandi Hills to the periphery of Bangalore. They say too many residential layouts, educational institutions, and industries have come up and they let pollutants into the river. This is apart from residues of chemical fertilizers and pesticides from farms, which pollute the river.

For the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), the "dead storage" at T.G. Halli is a matter of concern. At its optimum level, the reservoir has the potential to augment the city's water supply by 149 million litres a day (MLD). While the recent spell of rains has increased inflows, the storage level has to go up considerably and cross the 7.6-m mark before water can be pumped out from the reservoir. If the storage level improves to that extent, 1 MLD can be pumped to the city, BWSSB authorities say.

The last time the T.G. Halli reservoir had surplus water was in 1988. The BWSSB is now on a greening spree along the catchment area of the Arkavathy with the help of NGOs.

According to Oxfam, which held a Jala Chetana Yatra acrosss the country, for every instance of water pollution and mismanagement, there is an example of conservation.

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