Cauvery water

sewage water

river Cauvery

Shivaraj Tangadagi

BWSSB

FILLING UP LAKES

Not only does Karnataka issue 400 TMC ft ofto Tamil Nadu each year, it releases several million litres oftooThehas always been a bone of contention between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Then there was the conflict over Karnataka’s power project at Mekedaatu. Now, Tamil Nadu is likely to find one more reason to get into a war of words with the state. Not only does Karnataka issue 400 TMC ft of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu each year, it releases several million litres of sewage water too.The startling revelation of letting Bengaluru’s sewage into Tamil Nadu along with Cauvery water was made by none other than the Karnataka state government. The minor irrigation ministeron Wednesday told the Legislative Council that more than 1,400 million litres of Bengaluru’s sewage is let into Tamil Nadu on a daily basis.According to the minister, the IT city uses 1,950 million litres of water each day through various water resources like borewells and surface water sources among many others. “About 80 per cent (1,482 million litres) of this is led into the sewer systems that further drain into Tamil Nadu through various river courses,” minister Tangadagi explained.As per the minister’s revelation, around 889 million litres of sewage water (60 per cent) enters Tamil Nadu through the Pinakini and South Pennar (Ponnaiyar) river courses. The remaining 593 million litres (40 per cent) of sewage water flows into TN via the Arkavathi and Cauvery river courses on a daily basis.Giving a detailed account on the flow of sewage to Tamil Nadu through the east-flowing river courses, Tangadagi explained, “Due to percolation and evaporation process, about five percent of sewage water is lost while the rest flows into Tamil Nadu. If you consider all these processes, a total of 1,482 million litres of sewage water flows into Tamil Nadu from Bengaluru on a daily basis.”Wastewater – especially that of chemical origin –mixing with a freshwater resource is a matter of grave concern to residents regardless of their region. Thippeswamy, retired Engineer in chief,, said, “More than 80% of our daily work requires the use of water. Majority of the pollutants coming from industries, factories and our towns are getting mixed in the water and are highly toxic in nature. These pollutants when consumed by human beings can create irreversible damage for the body.” He added that animals and plants, just like human beings, are equally vulnerable to these chemicals. “It is amatter of concern that has to be looked into at a priority basis,” he urged.The Karnataka government has decided to make use of this sewage water by filling empty and parched lakes in Kolar and Chikkaballapur districts. “We have already approved a project to filter this sewerage water at Varthur Lake valley and Hebbal- Nagawara valley and pump the same water to the lakes of Kolar and Chikkaballapur districts. A detailed project report is underway and as many as 26 dry lakes in Chikkaballapur and 108 lakes in Kolar district will reap benefits in the first phase,” Shivaraj Tangadagi, minor irrigation minister, said.