Anil Agarwal Dialogues

f d d h dSafeguarding Rivers and WatershedsCase Study of Bangalore

Leo F. SaldanhaEnvironment Support Group

1572, Sapthagiri, Outer Ring Road, Banashankari 2nd Stage, Bangalore 560070, p g , g , g , gTel: 91-80-26713559/60 Email: esg@esgindia.org

Web: www.esgindia.org

Revering Cauvery, l b l fCelebrating life

Kings bequeathed land along ’ b kCauvery’s banks to attract 

the best talent into their cities.

Her waters fertilise fields and forests, and is a lifeline to millionsmillions.

Countless temple towns that grace her shores exemplifygrace her shores exemplify how deeply she is revered everywhere she flows.

Replete with life, memories and stories, she is the very River of Life.

Cauvery's watersThe many tributaries that augment Cauvery’s flow include Kabini, Kapila, , p ,Hemavathy, Shimsha, Lokapavani, Arkavathy,  Bhavani and many others.y

Each of these tributaries d t fdraw waters from an intricate and extensive network of  tanks built over th t ithe centuries.

The river thus provide waterThe river thus provide water for farming, urban and industrial needs.

Cauvery Basin spreads Cauvery Basin spreads acrosacros four four southern Statessouthern States

Bengaluru is within the Cauvery WatershedWatershed

Greater Bangalore WatershedGreater Bangalore WatershedGreater Bangalore WatershedGreater Bangalore Watershed

VrishabhavathiVrishabhavathi: : VrishabhavathiVrishabhavathi: : A Dying River?A Dying River?y gy g

Sacred origins of VrishabhavathiSacred origins of VrishabhavathiAn inscription on the 17th

t N di ti thcentury Nandi mentions the Bull Temple in Bangalore as the source of this river.

Vrishabhavathi, (Vrishaba, Bull) it is claimed flowsBull), it is claimed, flows underground for a while before emerging as a proper rivulet.

That flow now hardlyThat flow now, hardly resembles living waters .

Birth place of Vrishabhavathi in today’s d lBasavanagudi, Bangalore

Kempabudhi tank, once fed rain that it h d h d h bh hhad gathered into Vrishabhavathi

Revering Vrishabhavathi's l dsplendour?

Sri Vyasaraya of Channapattana, philosopher saint and Rajguru ofphilosopher-saint and Rajguru of the Vijayanagar Empire, was enamoured by Vrishabhavathi's grandeurgrandeur.

In reverence and awestruck, he established Gali Anjaneya templeestablished Gali Anjaneya temple in 1425 at the convergence of Vrishabhavathi with Suvarnamukhi south west of Bengaluru.south west of Bengaluru.

Today, the river is full of Bangalore's sewage whichBangalore s sewage, which seasonally spills into the temple.

Vrishabhavathi's banks are heavily b d d d l durbanised and industrialised

Dark, Heavy, Toxich bh h ’Vrishabhavathi’s Waters Now!

Vrishabhavathi or Vishabhavathi? 

Vrishabhavathi once breathed life to thebreathed life to the region.  Now it is tragically calledtragically called Vishabhavathi ‐ a poisonous riverpoisonous river.Its putrefying, dying waters carry Bangalore's refuse, hi h h f dwhich then feed 

Arkavathy.

Vrishabhavathi passes through Sewage l h lTreatment Plants in South Bangalore

A costly cleanA costly clean--up that has not up that has not delivereddelivered

Largely untreated waters of Vrishbhavathi enters Byramangala tank which irrigates vegetable gardens, orchards, paddies, ragi g g g , , p , g

and sugarcane fields, and also recharges ground water

Byramangala Tank – heavily polluted d bl h l hand a major public health concern 

A large bird population feed off these toxic waters

Vrishabhavathi Ground Water Vrishabhavathi Ground Water Averages from 30 SamplesAverages from 30 Samples

Vrishabhavathi  flows dark and toxic for miles and miles

Vrishabhavathi, joins Arkavathy a major drinking water source for Bangalore which then joins Cauvery near Kanakapura, south of Bangalore

Growing migration to cities from along these g

riversPollution of rivers is making f l d ff lfarming increasingly difficult all along these rivers.Low yields and crop failures d ll f dand overall farming distress 

from along these rivers is causing massive migration into citiesinto cities.In parallel, mega urban‐industrial projects are disrupting lives anddisrupting lives and livelihoods of thousands.A river system that nurtured generations now needsgenerations, now needs nurturing.

Aren't Cities overreaching their environmental limitsenvironmental limits

A city's ambition is quite independent of its environmental limits.  Can this growth be sustained?

Bangalore's sprawl at the cost Bangalore's sprawl at the cost of water securityof water security

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Lifting Cauvery to quench Bangalore'squench Bangalore s 

thirstC i li dCauvery water is supplied to Bangalore from 100 kms. away and lifted over 500 metresand lifted over 500 metres head.This demands enormousThis demands enormous investment of energy and infrastructure.Cauvery waters meet needs of half the city's populus. Rest depend on ground water, much of which is polluted.

1 li i B l t d1 li i B l t d1 crore live in Bangalore today1 crore live in Bangalore today

B l W t R B l W t R Bangalore Water Resources Bangalore Water Resources

Water Economics for Water Economics for BangaloreBangaloreBangaloreBangalore

Blore Water Supply Demand Blore Water Supply Demand ConundrumConundrum

ll i ill i iCauvery: Perpetually in Dispute?Cauvery: Perpetually in Dispute?

Can Kabini, Cauvery’s tributary, Can Kabini, Cauvery’s tributary, sustain a Super Thermal Power sustain a Super Thermal Power ppStation?Station?

3.9 TMC of Kabini 3.9 TMC of Kabini water allocated by K t k Karnataka for a slew of thermal power plants in power plants in Chamalapuranear Mysore

H h t i K bi i?H h t i K bi i?How much water in Kabini?How much water in Kabini?

C l Withd l f K bi iC l Withd l f K bi iCanal Withdrawals from KabiniCanal Withdrawals from Kabini

K bi i W t Utili tiK bi i W t Utili tiKabini Water UtilisationKabini Water Utilisation