Category: Pollution

Crying Tree – Chopped in Minutes

20180820_181412 I first met this majestic tree in 1982, which stood tall on Bannerghatta Road, just after Basavanapura. It’s been my buddy for 36 years. It was a big old tree back then and more so now. The land adjacent to it is our workplace, from my father’s time. This tree has seen me grow up, it has seen me come and go. It has weathered 100’s of monsoons and has sheltered many a dog, cow, goat, bird, bat and cat. When I arrive at this spot, I know I have come home.

This evening, at about 6:00 p.m., I drove back to my office, but the road was choked with traffic. I finally made it to the gate, only to see my buddy being cut down. I was chocked with emotion. The only thought in my mind was to stop the bleeding.

20180820_182213

I met the tree butchers and quizzed them. No one was in charge. One guy, appeared to be the leader and I asked him for the permits to cut the tree. He had none. He told me that his boss, the BBMP contractor, Shekar, had the permits and that I should speak with him. I called Shekar, who stated that he had the permits and that he had given it to the Police and BESCOM. I called the Hulimavu Police station and they told me that they do not know about the tree cut. They asked me to contact the control room (100). I called them and explained the situation. They gave me the number of the Forest Officer In-Charge, Mahesh.

I called Mahesh and explained the matter. I asked him if permits were granted to cut the tree. He was not too sure and asked me send photographs via WhatsApp. He mentioned that some trees were being cut down for road widening. I told him that the tree was being cut in the middle of rush hour (6:00 – 6:30 p.m.) and that it was a serious safety issue. I specifically told him that it was crazy to fell a tree with hundreds of vehicles passing by – buses, lorries, vans, cars, scooters and bikes.

After I had spoken to the Police and the Forest Officer, the tree butchers had quickly gathered the debris on their bikes and vans and scooted away by 6:40 p.m. Why run, if they were following the Law?

I have many troubling questions regarding the maiming of my tree buddy.

Has the BBMP issued a permit to cut this particular tree? If so, who authorized it?
Has the BBMP carried out a honest environmental impact study on the trees to be felled for road widening on Bannerghatta Road?
Assuming that the permit was granted, why did they have to butcher this tree during rush hour, endangering the public?
Why was the Police not present to control the traffic and protect citizens from falling debris?
Why did the tree butchers carry away the cut up portions on their personal bikes and vans?

The tree has a right to live. If it has to be chopped, in the name of city development, let the Government do it with responsibility. There should be an engineer in charge to explain it to the public and share the permits, while the butchering was done. It should be mandatory for the Government to post Police to safeguard the public from injury, while the tree was being cut. Common sense would dictate that the tree should not be cut, when a high density of vehicles were plying by.

If my tree buddy has to be butchered, in the name of development, let it be done with due process, with dignity and within the framework of the Law. I still hope that I can do something, so that what is left of it can live. Maybe if the tree lovers of Bangalore and the World voice their opinion, it would live to see another day. Good night my lovely tree. I know that you are crying and I cry with you tonight.

Bellandur Lake – NGT Order Illegal…

Bellandur Lake NGT Order Illegal
This is absolutely brilliant!

A friend called me about an hour ago and told me that the High Court of Karnataka had stayed all the Orders issued by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), New Delhi, regarding Bellandur Lake!

The Order was issued today (15 June 2017) by the Chief Justice of Karnataka, Honorable Subro Kamal Mukherjee, and Honorable Justice P.S. Dinesh Kumar, in Writ Petition WP 25881/2017, filed by Shashi Distilleries Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore.
This is the gist of the matter. I have not read the petition, but this is what I was told by a reliable source. Apparently, the National Green Tribunal, New Delhi, has no jurisdiction over the city of Bangalore! Hence, all the Orders passed by it with respect to Bellandur Lake, which is situated in the city, is null and void.

As always, I’m shocked, but not surprised, by this blatant Abuse of Power. How can the Justices at the NGT not know that they do not have jurisdiction over the city of Bangalore? Even kids know what they can do and what they can’t.
I had contended in my earlier posts that the Closure Order by the Karnataka State Pollution Board (KSPCB) was illegal and violated the fundamental rights guaranteed by Article 21, of the Constitution of India. As such 488 industries were closed for 40 days (05 May 2017 to 15 Jun 2017) and BESCOM had even disconnected electric power. At a minimum, 25,000 employees lost their livelihood for 40 days. Further, the credibility, reputation, goodwill and brand of the 488 industries have taken a severe beating. Some of them will never recover from the economic losses. I would dare to say that the damages are in excess of Rs. 1000 crores. Will someone pay for it?

Now, let’s wait and see if there is any sense of urgency by the Government of Karnataka, KSPCB and BESCOM to connect back the electricity to these 488 industries and restore their livelihood.

Bellandur Lake now needs the correct medicine to come alive. This time around, the Government of Karnataka, the BWSSB, BDA, Bangalore Urban Development, BBMP and the KSPCB, should get the job done right.

We are all watching – the 12 million people of Bangalore and the citizens of the world!

Sharing Water with Tamil Nadu – in pictures …

This is a visual supplement to my article:

Environmental Chicanery – Bangalore’s Shit, Tamil Nadu’s Water (https://indiachallenges.com/2017/06/06/environmental-chicanery-bangalores-shit-tamil-nadus-water/)

Journey of Bangalore Sewage from Bellandur Lake to the Bay of Bengal:

The right half of Bangalore (mustard circles) lets out approximately half the sewage of the city, which is 1000 MLD and which contains about 650 MLD of untreated sewage. This stream first collects in the Bellandur Lake and overflows into the Varthur Lake.

Bellandur Varthur Map

From here, it meanders south for about 40 Km to Kelavarapelli Reservoir. The outflow from here is designated as the “Then Pennai River”, which is also known as the “Ponnaiyar River”.

Kelavarapelli Reservoir

Soon after, it crosses the Karnataka – Tamil Nadu border.

Then Pennai Karnataka Tamil Nadu Border.JPG

The water travels to the Krishnagiri Dam, further south, which is about 60 Km from the Keleavarapelli Reservoir.

Krishnagiri Reservoir

It journey’s on for another 106 Km south-east to the Sathanur Reservoir, in the heart of Tamil Nadu.

Sathanur Reservoir.JPG

It then follows the south-easterly gradient for another 116 Km and drains into the Bay of Bengal at Cuddalore, in Tamil Nadu. This part of the sewage from Bangalore thus traverses a path of about 322 Km.

Then Pennai River Ends.JPG

Journey of Bangalore Sewage from Sankey Tank to the Bay of Bengal:

The left half of Bangalore (purple circles) again discharges about 1000 MLD of sewage and 650 MLD of untreated sewage. The birth place is near the Sankey Tank in Bangalore, which is in the uber-rich part of the city and the stream gets the privilege of being called the “Vrishabhavathi River.”

Sankey Tank

It travels south-west, along parts of the Bangalore-Mysore highway, for 34 Km and flows into the Vrishabhavathi Reservoir. When you exit Bangalore, en route to Mysore, you get a nasty stench from this river. It’s common knowledge that this is because of untreated sewage water.

Vrishabhavathi Reservoir

It continues from the Reservoir and travels 19 Km and joins the Arkavathi River (orange circles).

VB meets Arkavathi

From this point, it travers another 41 Km southwards and meets the great Kaveri (Cauvery) River, near the Mugguru Forest and Mekedatu.

Arkavati meets Kaveri

The Kaveri literally bisects the two States. But, here is the exact point where the river crosses the two States.

Kaveri Karnataka TN Border

It journeys on, in a south-westerly direction, into Tamil Nadu and flows into the Stanley Reservoir (Mettur Dam).

Stanley Reservoir

From here, the Kaveri River travels a long distance of about 220 Km and forks off at Tiruchirapalli, into two streams.

Kaveri Kollidam Split

One stream splits to the top as the Kollidam River and drains into the Bay of Bengal at Chidambaram, after traveling 104 Km.

Kollidam BoB

The other splits to the bottom, still as the famed Kaveri River, and travels about 107 Km, and eventually ends in the Bay of Bengal at Kaveripattanam. This part of the Bangalore sewage traverses about 421 Km.

Kaveri Ends

Can we all do something so that our Bangalore sewage does not end up at these end points?

Environmental Chicanery – Bangalore’s Sewage, Tamil Nadu’s Water

Bangalore TN Big Map

For a live Google Map, one that you can zoom in and journey the path of Bangalore’s sewage effluent’s travel through Tamil Nadu, see https://drive.google.com/open?id=1xUmQ-4eVglPGpKv50EntpdY6jSQ&usp=sharing

Google Maps has been a recent curiosity for me. It’s lately turned into a minor obsession. I can fly like an eagle, sitting on my computer and I can see the truth. I don’t need the Government of India to tell me about the state of our rivers and its pollution. I don’t need the media to give me an elevator pitch. I want to see it with my own eyes. You too can!

I’ll prove that all of our Bangalore sewage (shit, urine, soaps, household chemicals) is flushed into two major rivers, the Kaveri (Cauvery) and Thenpennai. It travels through the whole width of Tamil Nadu, providing water for drinking and irrigation. The people of Tamil Nadu have been hoodwinked by the Government of Karnataka.

Bangalore has a population of 12 million [1]. It is listed as the 18^th most populous city in the world! The Cauvery (Kaveri) river water project supplies 1350 MLD (million liters per day), which is augmented by water from other sources, including bore wells [3]. The BWSSB (Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board) states that the personal consumption is 165 liters/day. Based on this data, the people of Bangalore consume 1980 MLD. This is also the amount of sewage discharge per day.

Let’s compute a few more things. The average human feces, as per Britanica, is 100 to 250 grams/day [4]. A paper published in the National Institute of Health (US Department of Health and Human Services) lists the median fecal wet mass as 128 grams/day/person and urine at 1.42 liters/day [5]. Based on this data, I’ve estimated that Bangalore produces 1,536,000 Kg/day (1536 tones/day) of human feces (shit) and 17,040,000 Kg/day (17,040 tones/day) of urine.

We the people of Bangalore, just like others in the world, use soaps and shampoos for bathing, detergents for washing clothes and household chemicals (phenyls/phenols/acids/alkali/alcohols/ketones). Let me go on the low side and consider that we consume a very small amount, say 10 grams/day. This is 120,000 Kg/day (120 tones/day) of soaps, detergents and household chemicals.

In summary, the people of Bangalore are discharging 1980 MLD (1980,000,000 liters/day) of consumed water as waste, that is contaminated with 1,536,000 Kg/day (1536 tones/day) of human feces (shit), 17,040,000 Kg/day (17,040 tones/day) of urine and 120,000 Kg (120 tones/day) of soaps/detergents/household chemicals. This is a total of about 2000 MLD (million liters per day) of sewage!

Just try to visualize it. You have seen the large metal containers on trucks and on ships. They are about 20 feet in length, 8 feet wide and 8.5 feet high. In terms of trucks, the city discharges 52,105 trucks of sewage water, 40 trucks of shit, 448 trucks of urine and 3 trucks of soaps. This is a total of 52,597 trucks of sewage!

The BWBSSB proudly lists on its web site that it has 14 STP’s (sewage treatment plants) in Bangalore, for a total processing capacity of 721 MLD. The total sewage discharged is 2000 MLD.

This means 1279 MLD (1279,000,000 Kg) of sewage is discharged untreated. The actual amount is more, since the Bangalore STP’s have been documented to be dysfunctional and not operating to rated capacities. For simplicity, I will take the untreated sewage to discharge 1300 MLD.

This is a massive amount to let out and this is a real environmental disaster. The real sad part is that it is let out into two major rivers, the Thenpennai and Kaveri, that traverse through the heart of the State of Tamil Nadu.

The right half of Bangalore (see the interactive Google Map, mustard circles) lets out approximately half the sewage, which is 1000 MLD and which contains about 650 MLD of untreated sewage. This stream first collects in the Bellandur Lake and overflows into the Varthur Lake. From here, it meanders south for about 40 Km to Kelavarapelli Reservoir. The outflow from here is designated as the “Then Pennai River”, which is also known as the “Ponnaiyar River”. It then flows to the Krishnagiri Dam, further south, which is about 60 Km from the Keleavarapelli Reservoir. It journey’s on for another 106 Km south-east to the Sathanur Reservoir, in the heart of Tamil Nadu. It then follows the south-easterly gradient for another 116 Km and drains into the Bay of Bengal at Cuddalore, in Tamil Nadu. This part of the sewage from Bangalore thus traverses a path of about 322 Km.

The left half of Bangalore (see the interactive Google Map, purple circles) again discharges about 1000 MLD of sewage and 650 MLD of untreated sewage. The birth place is near the Sankey Tank in Bangalore, which is in the uber-rich part of the city and the stream gets the privilege of being called the “Vrishabhavathi River.” It travels south-west, along parts of the Bangalore-Mysore highway, for 34 Km and flows into the Vrishabhavathi Reservoir. When you exit Bangalore, en route to Mysore, you get a nasty stench from this river. It’s common knowledge that this is because of untreated sewage water. It continues from the Reservoir and travels 19 Km and joins the Arkavathi River (orange circles). From this point, it travers another 41 Km southwards and meets the great Kaveri (Cauvery) River, near the Mugguru Forest and Mekedatu. It journeys on, in a south-westerly direction, into Tamil Nadu and flows into the Stanley Reservoir (Mettur Dam). From here, the Kaveri River travels a long distance of about 220 Km and forks off at Tiruchirapalli. One stream splits to the top as the Kollidam River and drains into the Bay of Bengal at Chidambaram, after traveling 104 Km. The other splits to the bottom, still as the famed Kaveri River, and travels about 107 Km and ends in the Bay of Bengal at Kaveripattanam. This part of the Bangalore sewage traverses about 421 Km.

I really hope that the above details will help you zoom into the Google Map and traverse the wondrous paths of the Bangalore sewage.

This is a national disaster. I just hope the people of Tamil Nadu can forgive the negligence of the city of Bangalore and the State of Karnataka. It is irresponsible for the State of Karnataka to discharge its sewage water, with no regard to the welfare of the people of India.

What will happen now? Should the State of Tamil Nadu sue the State of Karnataka and the city of Bangalore in the National Green Tribunal (NGT)? Will the NGT, without application of mind, ask the people of Bangalore to stop defecating (shit, urine), stop taking bath (soaps), stop washing clothes (detergents) and stop cleaning their homes (household chemicals)? Should the people of Bangalore stop living?

My answer is a resounding NO! We need to solve this environmental catastrophe. The simple solution is to ensure that every drop of sewage is treated in STP’s using the latest technology, before discharging it. I have computed earlier that Bangalore has an immediate need for additional STP’s to process 1300 MLD of untreated sewage waste. These types of problems have been solved, both in India and in other countries. The technology is well known and well proven. What is needed is the will of the Government of Karnataka to be honest and do the right thing. They should stop using shoddy third rate stupid science and use its power to provide the best solutions for a stable and sustainable environment.

I can’t help but think of Uncle Ben telling Spiderman – “With great power comes great responsibility!”

References

[1] Population of Bangalore – http://indiapopulation2017.in/population-of-bengaluru-2017.html

[2] http://worldpopulationreview.com/world-cities/bangalore-population/

[3] BWSSB – https://bwssb.gov.in/content/about-bwssb-2

[4] Britanica feces – https://www.britannica.com/science/feces

[5] NIH feces paper – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4500995/

For a visual journey of this article please see my next post:

https://indiachallenges.com/2017/06/06/sharing-water-with-tamil-nadu-in-pictures/