BANGALORE: Water, water everywhere, not a drop to drink, thus goes a saying. In Bangalore, on one side, during monsoon, flooding is a common sight. While on the other hand there is severe shortage of drinking water in many parts of the city. But now, if everything goes well, Bangaloreans will not face water shortage. Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has geared up to take various measures to store water this monsoon, which will help them supply water throughout the year.Bangalore needs fifteen thousand million cubic (TMC) water supply. The BWSSB is supplying 11 TMCs. Speaking to City Express, technical advisor to the BBMP commissioner, H Raja Simha said that the BBMP has undertaken a massive drive and is appealing to the owners who have land/space of more than one acre to adopt Rain Water Harvesting (RWH). “We have identified around 1,000 such land owners,” he said. Apart from this, the BBMP is also requesting various buildings belonging to state and central government, public sector undertaking, army and other organisations to adopt RWH if they possess more than one acre of land. The commissioner has arranged a meeting with members of various Christian missionaries on Thursday for the same purpose. “Altogether in Bangalore there are 20,000 acres of land where RWH can be implemented. One acre land with RWH can store 40 lakh litres. That means with the space available, we can store around 13 TMC of water for one year, which is more than sufficient for a city like Bangalore. This supply is apart from BWSSB supply,” he added.Supply to be stoppedBBMP commissioner H Siddaiah who has written a letter to all the government heads, educational institutions, Indian Institute of Science and other organisations stated that they should compulsorily implement RWH by July 31, 2011, failing which they will disconnect the water supply to their building.Water percolation pitsThe BBMP is now making way for water percolation pits around trees. Presently, in many places, tiles are fixed on the footpath, covering the space around the trees. During the rainy season, water flows to the drains due to the tiles. “The BBMP is now removing a few tiles, leaving breathing space of two feet. Each tree has a capacity to store 10,000 litres of water for one year,” he said.RCC precast pitRaja Simha said that he has placed a proposal to introduce RCC precast pits on either side of the road, 100 meter apart. The pit will be three feet high, two feet wide with a porous base. “During the rains, when water falls in the pit, it will enter the ground, thus charging the ground water level. Excess water will go to the drain. The solid waste will be in the pit, and that can be removed,” he said. The pit will be closed by a porous slab.
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