Cubbon Park dries up as netas go missing

Cubbon Park dries up as netas go missing
Waste water from Vidhana Soudha, Legislators’ Home and Raj Bhavan is recycled and used to maintain the park. But thanks to the absence of netas, we have a water crisis at the park
Niranjan Kaggere niranjan.keggere@timesgroup.com


The empty corridors of Vidhana Soudha, thanks to the absence of elected netas in the past few weeks, has left several plants and trees in Cubbon Park thirsting for water. The reason: Waste water collected from the wash rooms of Vidhana Soudha, Legislators’ Home (LH) and Raj Bhavan is used for the maintenance of Cubbon Park by the Horticulture Department.
Shortage of water from these ‘catchment’ areas has literally forced the Horticulture Department to scout for alternative sources. “It is true that we are running short of water for our daily maintenance of lawns, gardens and the nursery in the park. Since the water supplied by the BWSSB treatment plant in Cubbon Park is not sufficient, we have built two check dams inside the park and are also recharging abandoned wells near Vikasa Soudha and the M S Building,” said Jayadev, Deputy Director of Horticulture and in-charge, Cubbon Park.
Sources in the department said that the BWSSB’s waste-water treatment plant at Cubbon Park, has a capacity of recycling 1.5 MLD of waste water everyday. However, there has been a considerable reduction in the generation of waste water by Vidhana Soudha and its adjoining buildings. “The reason could be a reduced use of wash rooms,” said a senior official.
But even if more waste water were generated, the capacity of the BWSSB’s recycling plant is limited.
Speaking to Bangalore Mirror, Prahlad Rao, spokesperson, BWSSB, said, “We can recycle only 1.5 MLD of waste water per day since we do not have the necessary infrastructure and machinery to recycle more water. Currently however, the waste water generated is less than 1. 5 MLD.”
To augment its water sources, the Horticulture Department has built a check dam near Venkatappa Art Gallery and another one near Bal Bhavan. “We did plan to increase the height of these check dams to accommodate more water. But the idea fell flat, as it would have flooded the gallery building. So we were forced to build two mini storage tanks instead. We are also recharging a couple of dead wells adjacent to M S building to maintain the Vidhana Soudha and Vikasa Soudha gardens. We are working on tapping every available water source in the area. But we still do not seem to have enough water,” said Jayadev.
Cubbon Park spanning more than 200 acres includes the gardens of Vidhana Soudha, Vikasa Soudha, LH, High Court, Raj Bhavan and the M S building. The gardens are great crowdpullers and require more than 2.5 MLD of water on a daily basis. However, the Horticulture Department is struggling to meet this daily requirement. Adding to the crisis is this year’s bleak monsoon and failing borewells in the area.