The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : BWSSB working on making rainwater harvesting a movement

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jun 22, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

BWSSB working on making rainwater harvesting a movement

Staff Reporter

Board asks support of major institutions of the city for its drive

Board holds workshop for plumbers
BBMP pledges support to the BWSSB in its drive

MAKING EVERY DROP COUNT: Urban Development Department Principal Secretary K. Jothiramalingam and BWSSB Chairman N.C. Muniyappa (left) looking at rainwater harvesting model at a workshop for plumbers in Bangalore on Thursday.

BANGALORE: “Enforcement of bye-laws pertaining to rainwater harvesting must be stringent like in Chennai. While there are laws to ensure that every new building has RWH systems, the same laws should be applied to old constructions as well,” K. Jothiramalingam, Principal Secretary, Urban Development Department, said at a workshop on rainwater harvesting for plumbers on Thursday.

Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) Chairman N.C. Muniyappa said that while Rs. 400 crore was being spent every year on rainwater harvesting initiatives in rural areas of the State, very little was done in urban centres.

He urged the corporates, Defence establishments and institutions like the Indian Institute of Science and Indian Institute of Management, which have large tracts of land, to take active part in the rainwater harvesting drive of the BWSSB.

The workshop, organised by the BWSSB, was intended to educate people, particularly plumbers, about the techniques employed to harvest rainwater and replenish groundwater. The target audience in this case was important as one of the major factors restricting the spread of RWH systems was the lack of skill availability among plumbers.

Hydrologist P. Subramanian, one of the key figures behind the success of RWH initiatives in Tamil Nadu, made a presentation on the topic.

Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike Commissioner K. Jairaj pledged support to the BWSSB and said that he would foster a healthy competition with the BWSSB in the implementation of RWH systems.

Stall

The workshop had a stall, set up by Farmland Rainwater Harvesting Systems, a leading company in the business of supplying RWH and groundwater replenishment equipment.

Michael Sadananda, Director, Farmland Rainwater Harvesting Systems, welcomed the idea of such a workshop and pledged to extend all possible support to Bangalore’s civic authorities in their efforts.

He said: “We are hoping that our successful experience in the rural areas of the State will prove to be handy for Bangalore’s RWH initiative.”

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