Rejuvenate Bangalore’s rivers, says Ananth Kumar

Rejuvenate Bangalore’s rivers, says Ananth Kumar

Special Correspondent

Bangalore: The former Union Minister H.N. Ananth Kumar said on Sunday that the water problem in the city could be solved by rejuvenating Vrushabhavati, Swarnavati and Arkavati rivers. He was speaking after inaugurating a sports room constructed at the Udayabhanu Kalasangha Playground at Basavanagudi. The sports room was built utilising the funds made available by Mr. Ananth Kumar from out of the MP Local Area Development scheme.

Vrishabhavati, which takes birth in the heart of Malleswaram is polluted from its source. It ends up joining the open sewage drain along the Mysore Road near Jnana Bharati campus.

He recalled the contribution of Kempegowda, who founded Bangalore 400 years ago, for his vision to build a line of lakes through out the length and breadth of the city to provide water to its citizens. Many Raja Kaluves built during his time had disappeared over the decades and even the three rivers have been converted into the drains for discharging sewage and effluents.

A major portion of the sewage water generated in the city was let into the Vrushabhavati, Challaghatta and Hebbal valleys, which swell during the rainy season and create problems for those, particularly the poor, who live in the low-lying areas of the valleys.

Many lakes and tanks in city had been filled resulting in frequent inundation of the surrounding areas when it rains. He said that engineers, who had studied the river rejuvenation proposition, were of the view that sewage water should be recycled and collected for utilising for non-drinking purposes.