The city once took pride in having a series of wells both in private and public spaces. Quite apt since water is quite literally the lifeline of any society.
Over the years, the infrastructure evolved with artificial elements replacing open soil and the impact on the ground water table is evident. What we could harvest from an open well now needs to be literally mined through borewells. The removal of vegetation, especially trees has further compounded the problems.
While we might be inclined to pass the blame to the administration, one really needs to think of how we are managing our own private spaces in our gardens, especially given that our own spaces constitute a significant portion of the landscape. Household compounds which once had trees are these days, devoid of these green blessings. In the name of ease of maintenance, we have replaced open soil in our gardens with either concrete or pavers.
Thus, when it rains, albeit for a brief period, we see flooding in low lying areas until the water eventually finds its way down the drain.
The city despite having the luxury of a decent amount of rainfall, still struggles with the water availability issue.
Urban spaces, if properly planned can still be sustainable, should we have to common sense to put our mind to it.
Before just blaming the administration, it would do a world of good to create uncovered soil in residential and institutional compounds and to add some trees and native plants to this private landscape.
Wake up Belagavi. It’s time for some green action.
Yes I agree under ground water recharging is very much necessary.. but in recent days by smart city plan, the sides of roads in residential area are covered with cement/concrete.. this action by administration is again going to create water scarcity in future. The respective authority should plan wisely keeping in mind about the future. There should awareness on this to the city people.
We are working on building awareness. And it is not just roads but household compounds that have cement and pavers. Would be good if it commences as a citizen owned program