Bengaluru's dry run is a national crisis

Most Indian cities face grave water risk, with the latest warning coming from the country’s favourite tech town, Bengaluru. Large parts, especially those without piped Cauvery water that include high-end apartments, are experiencing shortages. Social media posts suggest that residents of upmarket condos are using toilets in local malls since there is no water at home. Authorities have asked residents to use water judiciously, pressed into service extra water tankers, and capped tanker prices for four months. This is not the look of a to-be-Viksit Bharat.

Bengaluru’s water crisis is not a resource scarcity. It is a combination of bad water management, water-illiterate residents, contaminated supplies, leaky distribution networks and extensive urbanisation. The city has grown horizontally and vertically. So, not all places have Cauvery water. These areas depend on groundwater or tankers that bring water from borewells from adjoining towns. Many borewells are running dry as aquifers have not been recharged. The city has also lost its lakes that recharged aquifers. In 1961, Bengaluru had 262 lakes. Today, it has 81. Unplanned urbanisation has also altered the local ecology, hydrology and environment. Many of these problems beset other cities as well. A 2021 WWF report warned that 30 Indian cities will face grave water risk.

Bengaluru could have avoided this crisis if governments and citizens took care of basic water-saving and augmentation measures, as suggested by Karnataka Water Policy 2022. The plan suggests recycling, reusing treated wastewater, rainwater harvesting and industrial water-use planning. The city’s population is expected to touch 20.3 million by 2031. Bengaluru, and other cities, must act now, or face a parched future.