An IISc research claims that 93% of Bengaluru is a concrete jungle. How the acute water issue was exacerbated by unplanned development
BENGALURU: Over the last three decades, there has been a notable 1055% increase in Bengaluru’s built-up areas or regions with concrete buildings and paved surfaces. Unnoticed, however, is the 79% decline in the water spread area over the last 50 years, which has an influence on the availability of this valuable resource, and the 88% loss of vegetation, which has an impact on the storage of respiratory carbon.
The disclosures coincide with a severe water scarcity that has the city in its grasp and has even forced water rationing. Scientists from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), who have charted Bengaluru’s development and evolution over the last 50 years, have recorded the astonishing loss of green cover and the water-spread area. Using free and open-source software, the scientists have unveiled two public information systems, BuiS (Bangalore Information System) and BLIS (Bangalore Lakes Information System), to help researchers and policymakers recognize the negative effects of unplanned urbanization on the city’s residents. They have presented their analysis in a recently released model.
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Prof. TV Ramachandra of the IISc’s Centre for Ecological Sciences claims that the primary reason for Bengaluru’s declining groundwater level is the water spread area, which has shrunk from 2,324 hectares in 1973 to barely 696 hectares in 2023. “In 1973, Bengaluru’s water surface covered 2,324 hectares. The water surface has significantly decreased throughout the last 50 years as a result of careless concretization. Of the remaining bodies of water, 90% of the lakes are supplied by industrial effluents or untreated sewage, and 98% of the lakes are encroached upon. Of course, this has also had an effect on the groundwater table’s recharging.
He said that groundwater recharging in Bengaluru has also been impacted by the decrease in water surface area. It is worth noting that the built-up area of the IT city increased from only 8% in 1973 to 93.3% in 2023. Ramachandra ascribed the significant reduction in the amount of greenery to the increased concentration of air pollution and temperature rise. “Only 1.5 million trees in Bengaluru sustain the city’s 9.5 million inhabitants, or one tree for every seven people, according to remote sensing statistics. But even the sequestration of respiratory carbon—540–900 g per person per day—is not accomplished by this, he said.
Researchers claim that the BUiS aids in the visualization of Bengaluru’s urban dynamics, as well as the number of trees and their spatial distribution by ward and the presence of lakes or other bodies of water. It also aids in the visualization of Bengaluru’s environmentally sensitive areas. “Unplanned urbanization, particularly when it occurs quickly, presents significant issues like pollution, unequal resource distribution, traffic jams, slum expansion, joblessness, growing dependency on fossil fuels, and unchecked growth or sprawl in the periphery,” Ramachandra stated. Through the collection of historical data, researchers Bharath H. Aithal, Vinay S., Tulika Mondal, and Abhishek Baghel have also made significant contributions to the system’s setup.
