Our cities are powerhouses of energy, people and economy. With such growth engines running 24*7, there is a constant requirement for infrastructure that must cater to the people of the city. Irrespective of the kind of jobs that we do, we all require some kind of basic infrastructure of water, shelter, sanitation and food- not necessarily in that order. Can we imagine a city without water? Can we imagine a city without its sewer lines? Can we imagine our city not getting food from its nearby villages?
Take for example Bangalore’s case. We get water from Kaveri- a source that is 100 kms away. Of late, the city has been getting new lines of Cauvery water from the Phase 4 pipeline project, which brings us to an ugly and bitter reality – clean water is no longer nature’s gift to us anymore. Running right beside the fresh water lines are the lines that we should pay more attention to, the lines that mark our consumption – the lines of sewage and the storm water drains.
What are storm water drains and why do we need them?
Storm water drains are a network of pipes that drain out excess rain and ground water from our streets, parking lots, sidewalks, etc to rivers or streams. In simple words, they prevent the city from being flooded. They are designed to take excess water from cities and to a nearby water source – a river or stream. Some cities may have this network connected to their sewer systems. But for simplicity – let’s stick to drains that merely deal with rainwater and excess ground water from our roads and pavements. How many times have we crossed a drain with our hands/handkerchiefs over our nose from the stench? How many times have we witnessed plastic floating in the open drain behind our building? BBMP cleans its storm water drains once a year.
I cannot but emphasize: water management and solid waste management are integrated with each other- one without the other can often lead to mismanagement of both. Which brings us to a larger question- what can we locally do?
As people who reside in cities, we have become small mechanized machines of consumption. It is often reflected in our dustbins.
When Bangalore started its segregation mission on 1st of October, several people adopted another dustbin- as a sign, a start to a cleaner tomorrow. But to those who don’t get the religion of segregated waste, the city finds its own Mavallipuras and Mandurs in the corners – including smelly drains that run behind our homes.
We all talk of saving water but we seldom understand that water needs saving not just at homes, but also in public spaces. It needs to travel through the channels of storm water drains and reach our rivers. It is this infrastructure whose maintenance must keep up with the city’s water needs. Can we contribute to this? Yes, we can start with caring for the public utilities that serve a very useful purpose, only if we use them well.
And that’s a good start.