Reviving Bengaluru's Lakes ft. Zenrainman | Agents of Change
Agents of Change features candid conversation with the city’s change makers, and deep dives into the stories behind the people and projects that inspire citizens to take action.
Our first conversation was with Vishwanath S, popularly known as Zenrainman, or the Rain Man of Bengaluru. Famous for his deep knowledge of the city’s weather patterns and monsoons, Vishwanath has been an integral part of projects and policies in the water and sanitation sector in the city. In this interview, he gets candid about lakes in Bengaluru, the city’s water ‘crisis’ and how citizens can take steps to be more water literate.
Bengaluru is a very special city because of the number of citizens and people who come together to address a problem and also solution for things. For lake rejuvenation, citizens, parastatal agencies and governments work together to bring the lake back to life. However, people from across backgrounds and world views have different ideas for what a lake’s purpose should be. How do these issues get resolved? Who has the last word in deciding a lake’s purpose?
Vishwanath: In the case of Jakkur Lake, for example, the issue got resolved with a series of discussions on the key ideas that were contestable. On this, there were several stakeholders who had come together - from citizen groups to Annapoorna Kamath from Jalaposhan.
In some lakes in Bengaluru, fishermen aren’t allowed, but for us in Jakkur, fishermen were an important part of the livelihood component of the lake. We had conversations with them to say, How will you carry out your operations? Will birds still be protected?
In some lakes, the fear was that if the fish were gone, the birds would be harmed. After a conversation or two, you realise that the fisherman’s worldview accommodates both his wishes and doesn’t harm birds either.
Parts of the lake were kept as what we call a conservation zone where no activity would take place. That too, conflicted with stakeholder perspectives which stated that the area instead should be cleaned, landscaped, and there should be no snakes, right? A compromise was reached when we said that some part of Jakkur lake would be landscaped, and the other would cater to conservation.
The final example I can think of is about the wetland, and the plants there are incredible fodder for cattle. We had bird watchers who said that if people come and cut the grass, birds would get disturbed during the nesting and roosting season.1
Having a dialogue with different people to reach a negotiation that is favourable is key to such a project. And these were informal dialogues, but they helped immensely.
Ideally in my worldview, the lake’s purpose should be livelihood based; it should be pro poor and those who depend on the lake for their livelihoods should have first priority.
Those who depend on the lake for recreational or aesthetic purposes should have second priority. And that's how you should design a lake, which recognises these issues. That’s something that I think mostly groups need to do, which is what ‘Friends of Lakes’ aimed to do. But the BBMP doesn't see things this way.
Vishwanath, we’re very keen to know your thoughts on the reports that broke out recently about ‘Day Zero’ and this impending sort of doom around Bengaluru running out of water.
How much of this blanket statement about the city’s ‘water crisis’ is actually true?
Vishwanath: Well, it's not true - it is a theory. Some parts of Bengaluru are always in a permanent crisis, whether there is rain or not in the Cauvery or the city, and we must ask ourselves the question - Why are those parts of the city in crisis?
It could be that the water distribution network doesn't get to them or that they occupy informal settlements. For those people, there's a permanent water crisis. But when the middle class and richer folk who have access to social media face a certain type of water shortage, it becomes global news because this is the era of social media. This sort of a headline captures attention and eyeballs, right?
To deconstruct the real crisis in this scenario is crucial. If you understand the right problem, you’ll find the right solution. In this particular case you’re referring to, it was the draining of two major lakes in Bengaluru - Bellandur & Varthur, which caused the groundwater tables to collapse and hence caused a crisis in Whitefield and surrounding areas, and also a delay in Cauvery Phase 5 which caused a crisis in some other pockets of the city.
As a city, however, we are continuously getting 1,450 million litres per day from the Cauvery. And there was enough in the Cauvery reservoirs for the city not to run out of water, right?
The danger in this sort of false narrative or rather, news that is blown out of proportion is that one, you focus on a cure that is worse than the disease itself. Second, you don't focus on pockets which have the challenge and make sure that they get water. Instead, you think that the city needs fixing. That’s the real danger of it. So we need to be a bit more balanced in our understanding of the real problem.
Of course. So then, what steps should citizens take to be water literate?
Vishwanath: Unfortunately, this is a burden that citizens of developing countries and especially countries like India have to bear. If I go to Helsinki or Stockholm, I don't have to worry about any water issues because I have water in my taps 24/7; and I can drink this water. I don't need to buy bottled water, RO water, I don’t have to call for a tanker or sink a borewell into the ground.
The real concern I feel for us as citizens should be - are we building the right institution to deliver water and sanitation with human resource capabilities being able to design it with a goal? Does this institution have the right financial muscle to be able to implement projects? That's the long-term narrative that we have to develop if you want permanent solutions.
In the short term, citizens have to learn to deal with less water, and they need to start conserving it - either by harvesting rain water, recycling water, using aerators, and being careful with it at the household level.
At the community level, they should start to engage with the local lake and make sure that that lake gets protected and usable from as much of a water perspective.
System wise we need to push for the BWSSB to be reformed and to be able to better manage the situation for us.
Could you go into detail about the reform that an institution like the BWSSB should undertake?
Vishwanath: What institutions need is to be well-rounded. For example, the BWSSB does not have a groundwater cell, and therefore groundwater does not exist for the utility.
If we are able to create a groundwater cell then perhaps you'll draw better management plans for our groundwater, for aquifers, and be able to position it as part of the solution for the city's water requirements. The second component is reused water. Treated wastewater is a big source but because we don't have the mindset to release this water into the environment, we don’t bring it up to reduce the demand of fresh water in the city.
Institutions need to be well rounded from a IUWM (Integrated Urban Water Management) perspective, and the projects they bring into place for a city need to be in public discussion. What are you thinking about for the city now and for the future? And what does mean for my ward, apartment and my house?
That kind of transparency and openness is very important for us, especially in a city like Bengaluru.
Want to read some more about lakes in the city? Here’s a super cool resource, check it out: https://biopatrika.com/resources/a-to-z-guide-to-bengalurus-lakes-illustration-book/
Agents of Change is an exclusive series brought to you under BLR Echoes, UnboxingBLR’s monthly newsletter. Read our September newsletter at this link: https://unboxingblr.substack.com/p/blr-echoes-reviving-bengalurus-lakes