Bengaluru in South India saw a remarkably warm February and March, and in the last few years, it has had small rain in part due to human-caused climate change. Water levels are going desperately down, especially in poorer countries, resulting in sky-high prices for food and a rapidly dwindling supply. City and state administration agencies are trying to keep this place under control with emergency measures such as nationalizing food tankers and placing a cap on food prices. But food experts and some residents were right that the worst was to happen in April and May, when the sun was at its strongest. The rising temperature in Bengaluru is surpassing all previous records, and this year is turning out to be one of the hottest years for the tech capital in the last five decades. On April 28th, 38.5 degrees Celsius was recorded in Bengaluru, which is said to be the second-highest temperature in the last five decades.
India's food situation is so serious that nearly 600 million of its population are deprived of food. Some of its cities, e.g., Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Madras, deplete their groundwater resources. The leads come from a lack of government design, increased corporate privatization, business and human waste polluting food sources, and government corruption. The administration has been running on the accessibility and level of domestic drinking water schemes; yet, rural areas are frequently left out, and the rapid growth of urban regions has made it hard to keep up with. So government solutions are compromised by privatization.
Amidst one of its most serious food crises in decades, the Bangalore Water System and Sewerage Commission (BWSSB) has embarked on a scheme to save food by applying supply cuts to big customers, aiming to save 60 million liters per day (MLD). The initiative aims to decrease the part of the daily food deficit experienced by the city during this season, which the state government estimates at around 500 MLD against the demand of 2,600 MLD. Presently, 1,470 MLD is sourced from this Cauvery stream, while 650 MLD is distilled from borewells. Last month, the 20 percent supply cut was levied on 38 bulk users, including several large establishments, resulting in savings of almost 12 MLD per day. Nevertheless, hospitals were exempted from the reduction. Today, the commission plans to expand the supply made to other important consumers, mainly trade institutions, housing complexes, and industries consuming between 20 lakh and 2 crore liters of water daily, totaling nearly 20,000 consumers across Bengaluru, the Hindu reported.
According to a new report, as many as 125 out of nearly 800 lakes under BBMP (Greater Bengaluru) and Bengaluru Urban District areas are reported to have dried up. Additionally, 25 more BBMP lakes are heading in the same direction.
Among the dried-up lakes, 100 are in Bengaluru Urban District, and 25 are within BBMP limits. Out of the 184 lakes in the BBMP's custody, 50 are in critical condition. As per BBMP officials, some of the lakebeds have turned into cricket pitches overnight for local boys and youngsters to enjoy their sporting activities. Bengaluru Urban District, which has over 600 lakes beyond the BBMP area within its jurisdiction, has witnessed nearly 100 of them drying up this year, The Times of India reported.
People in Bengaluru have to get food bottles worth Rs. 25 to Rs. 30 to buy clean food. People experience more issues during the summer months, when the regular demand for food increases. Lately, it has been studied that 25 percent of the urban population lacks access to drinking water. In some countries, at the threshold, the highest withdrawal (off return) approved by the Government of Karnataka (GOK) is fully used, and there can be no other traditional food sources to develop.
(The writer is a student at MS Ramaiah College of Arts Science and Commerce, Bengaluru and can be reached at shashank030303@gmail.com)
