Water Pollution

I have been residing in Bangalore for as long as 20 years. Although I am a Malayalee, I would call Bangalore my home instead of Kerala because I have spent a major part of my life here and I’m emotionally attached to this place. I have seen a lot of changes in Bangalore in these past 20 years. It was a rapid change that one couldn’t imagine how technology, lifestyle, infrastructure etc. went to a whole new level. But as we were going towards advancement we were forgetting the sustainable development. I remember when I was a kid and during December there used to be fog and we used to play around blowing our breadth to see the fog coming out of our mouth like smoke. But sadly the kids of this generation cannot witness such beauty. I feel ashamed to call my city ‘Garden City’. I took pride in saying it around 10-15 years back but not anymore. Now the city I love is facing a terrible issue. ‘Water’, yes water is the number one problem. It is such a big issue that if we don’t do anything about it now Bangalore could be the second city in the world to run out of water after Cape Town very soon. Many people living in Bangalore use tankers to fill their tanks costing really high. We have dug so many borewells that there is no more water available underground even if we dig till 1500ft underground. It’s not just the depletion of water. It’s the water pollution that causes harm to the environment around.

Back around 35 years back Bangalore had 262 lakes. If we date back to the 16^th century Kempegowda had built many lakes for the requirement of the geography of Bangalore. But due to drastic development of real estate and advancement of urbanization and industries these lakes have been reduced to a very small scale and the few surviving ones are getting polluted. Let’s take Bellandur lake. It is one of the largest lake in Bangalore and the most polluted one with dangerous chemical substances in it. As a matter of fact the river cannot be seen, it is completely covered with 10ft high of snow like substance, the term used is ‘froth’.  The government’s idea of sluice gate did not work because due to rains the water just rushes through causing havoc to the commuters on road and residents living near by. This froth flies around due to wind and falls on commuters which causes skin diseases and other infections. At one point it was recorded that there was a fire coming out of this lake and the smoke could be seen at a distance. These pollutions are caused by the dumping of industrial waste on these rivers.

The water quality is dictated by natural conditions, mans activities and proper disposal waste. But it’s majorly caused by mans activities land encroachment, new projects, altering the flow of rivers and streams and changing their direction and dumping waste into water beds. Although this article is based in the US it can be related to the previous article of Bellandur lake and how industries are dumping industrial waste into the lake. An economy can go down due to this because without waer life cannot sustain and that particular geography becomes uninhabitable or else a lot of money should be invested in building long pipe line for borrowing etc. But it is not that anything can’t be done. Its just that politicians and policy makers have put water conservation or climate change as least of their priorities due to their unending greed.

A BBC documentary called “Blue Planet - 2” released in a series of episodes shows how plastic waste in ocean is harming the marine life. In fact the production crew of this documentary witnessed many instances of plastic dumps in the ocean while they were in their shooting process. Marine life like fish, sea mammals and seabirds are being harmed and executed by plastic contamination, and its it trusted that 700 species could go wiped out as a result of it. the estimates recommend that no less than 267 species worldwide have been influenced, including 84% of ocean turtle species, 44% of all seabird species and 43% of all marine well evolved creature species, however there are likely some more. Deaths are mostly caused by ingestion of plastics, starvation, suffocation, contamination, entanglement and suffocation. These tiny bits of plastic can draw in poisonous synthetic concoctions discharged by industry and farming decades back, the grouping of which additionally increments up the natural food chain. Plastic is cheap and adaptable, making it perfect for some applications, however a large number of its helpful characteristics have prompted it turning into a natural issue. The human population has built up an expendable way of life: it is assessed that half of plastics are utilized once before being discarded. Plastic is a significant asset yet dirtying the planet with it is unacceptable and unsustainable.

It is accounted that 75% to 80% of water contamination is caused by the domestic sewage. Squander from the ventures like, sugar, material, electroplating, pesticides, mash and paper are dirtying the water. Expansive measure of domestic sewage is depleted in to waterway and the greater part of the sewage is untreated. Domestic sewage contains toxins, strong solid waste, plastic litters and bacterial contaminants and these dangerous materials causes water contamination. Diverse mechanical gushing that is depleted in to waterway without treatment is the significant reason for water contamination. Unsafe material released from the industries is in charge of surface water and ground water tainting. Contaminant relies on the idea of ventures. Dangerous metals enter in to water and decreased the nature of water. 25% contamination is caused by the industries and is more unsafe. Low quality water destroys the yield production and contaminates our food which is dangerous for marine life and human life. Contaminations bother the food chain and substantial metals, particularly iron influences the respiratory organs of fishes. An iron obstruct in to gills, it is deadly to fishes, when these fishes are eaten by humans it prompts the real medical problem. Metal tainted water leads to baldness, liver cirrhosis, renal failure and neural disorder.

These problems can be tackled if there is enough awareness , public pressuring the government, choosing representatives who believe in climate change and vote for sustainable development. The problem is the vast majority neglecting this issue and politicians not doing anything about this due to their greed for money. If a change is not started any moment to tackle these issues, the next generation won’t have a planet to live. 

References:-

E. (Ed.). (2018, September 26). Two rains are enough for Bellandur lake to froth Read more at: //economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/65960032.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst. The Economic Times. Retrieved December 4, 2018, from https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/two-rains-are-enough-for-bellandur-lake-to-froth/articleshow/65960032.cms

Bhasthi, D. (2017, March 1). City of burning lakes: Experts fear Bangalore will be uninhabitable by 2025. The Guardian. Retrieved December 4, 2018, from https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/mar/01/burning-lakes-experts-fear-bangalore-uninhabitable-2025

Chandrashekar, J. S., & K. B. (2003). Impact of urbanization on Bellandur Lake, Bangalore - A case study. Journal of Environmental Biology,223-227. Retrieved December 4, 2018, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/8449200_Impact_of_urbanization_on_Bellandur_Lake_Bangalore_-_A_case_study.

Hennigan, R. (1969). Water Pollution. BioScience, 19(11), 976-978. doi:10.2307/1294973

Smith, K. T. (Ed.). (2018, May 16). How Plastic Pollution is Affecting the Ocean Wildlife. Retrieved December 4, 2018, from https://www.azocleantech.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=729

M., M., A., S., N., S., . . . M. (2017). Water pollution and human health. Environmental Risk Assessment and Remediation,1(3). doi:10.4066/2529-8046.100020