You are drinking pollution, not water

You are drinking pollution, not water

Reports indicate that over 62% of underground water in the city is contaminated by industrial effluents, leading to a potentially alarming healthcare situation

Srikanth Hunasavadi Bangalore



Your corporators want at least 10 new borewells dug in each of the 198 wards in Bangalore – 1,980, if their wishes are granted. But consider this: a shocking 62% of the city's underground water is contaminated by industrial effluents and pollutants, posing a health risk as it is unfit for drinking. This water replenishes the borewells even as corporators want more of these dug.
Environment minister J Krishna Palemar announced this on Friday while citing the latest survey report of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) after a meeting with officials of KSPCB, Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) and Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).
According to a 2008 KSPCB survey report, 58% of underground water in Bangalore was contaminated. Disturbingly, two years later, the water contamination levels are found to have gone up to 62%, and it has been attributed to a large number of industries discharging waste waters into open drains and lakes, throwing environment concerns to the winds. The minister said that despite repeated directions to set up effluent treatment plants, several industries had not bothered to do that; instead they were letting the wastes run into the water bodies of the city.
On surveillance, 46 defaulting industries in Bangalore, mainly making dyes, were issued closure orders and 18 criminal cases were filed against them.Three criminal cases against BWSSB and 10 cases against CMC and TMCs were filed for discharging untreated sewage into water bodies. The board has also restricted industrial projects in the Tippagondanahalli catchment, he said.