Soudha, HC complex to harvest rain soon

Soudha, HC complex to harvest rain soon
The Times of India

Bangalore: As seats of power and justice, they are Bangalore’s major tourist attractions. Now, they are also going to harvest rain.

The Vidhana Soudha and the High Court are two of 10 demonstration sites for rain water harvesting (RWH) in Bangalore being set up by the Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology (KSCST) and Department of Forest, Ecology and Environment under the Indo-Norwegian Environment Programme (INEP).

According to KSCST principal investigator (RWH), A.R. Shivakumar, the sites are only the visible manifestations of a larger awareness programme on RWH that involves training sessions for architects, builders and residents’ associations. “We have also organised awareness programmes in Sahkarnagar and Vijayanagar and response has been very good,’’ Shivakumar told The Times of India.

INEP programme manager, Sheshagiri Kashyap, said the RWH project involved Rs 41 lakh as grant (from INEP) and Rs 6 lakh as local contribution. Now, RWHstructures have been put up at General Post Office (GPO), Bangalore City Corporation head office, Commissionerate of Public Instruction, Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, the KSCST office inside Indian Institute of Science, Kengeri Beedi Workers’ Housing Scheme, fire station in Rajajinagar and Gandhi Krishi Vigyan Kendra (GKVK), Hebbal.

“The structures at Vidhana Soudha and High Court will be ready by August-end,’’ Kashyap said. They are being installed primarily to harvest rain for non-potable purposes like gardening, he said.

Of the 10 sites, only in four places will there be any groundwater recharge. “You can have three kinds of RWH: collect and use, collect and use for recharge, and just recharge. We have concentrated on the first kind,’’ he added.

Other programmes: INEP has been associated with sustainable development programmes since 1997. Now it is working on fly ash utilisation at Raichur, eco-forestry in Kolar, Bangalore and Tumkur; and solid waste management in Chikmagalur, etc. But all programmes will be completed by September 2005. “We are not inviting any new proposals for funding,’’ Kashyap added.

Potential rainwater collection from the roof area of High Court is the highest — 12,345 kilo litres. Vidhana Soudha comes next with a potential for collecting 4,878 KL. Gandhi Krishi Vignana Kendra (GKVK) comes third with 1,483 KL.