Is Bengaluru facing water scarcity?

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Water is one of the most important resources we have and scarcity of the same is a reality that we all need to face. Currently, at the peak of summer, Bengaluru is facing an acute water shortage and among the worst hit are newly-developed areas and IT corridors.

The revised master plan for the city, published by the Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA), has predicted that the city’s population will increase by approximately 8 million and reach 20.3 million between 2019 and 2031. According to a study by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), the city will become inhabitable in the next few years if its population continues to grow at this alarming rate. This population growth has put a strain on the city’s natural resources and led to the depletion of lakes and wells.

Even the Cauvery water that two-thirds of Bengaluru receives is not sufficient due to the  Supreme Court ruling which limits the amount of water that can be released to the city. Due to inefficient city planning, the newer areas are forced to depend on tankers and bore wells. A survey by the Indian Institute of Human Settlements pointed out that the per capita groundwater availability is rapidly declining — in 1951 it was 14,180 liters a day, by 2001 is reduced to 5,120 liters, and is expected to come down to 3,670 by 2025. A total of 21 major cities are estimated to run out of groundwater by 2020 and 54 percent of wells in India are seeing a fall in water levels.