Water conservation expert Vishwanath Srikantaiah highlights the success of Bangalore's circular water economy project recharging downstream rural aquifers.
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Srikantaiah: Just 20 families capture 70% to 80% of India's GDP growth
“Even now of the GDP growth, 20 families benefit 70% or 80%.”
Assertion Supported
Srikantaiah: Chinese dams cannot drain the Brahmaputra because 80% is Indian rainfall
“However, rest assured that if we are able to manage the Brahmaputra, which falls within India, we will not lose much water to the Chinese Dreams of building dams because roughly 80% of the water that flows in the Brahmaputra actually is rainfall which falls on…”
Assertion Partly supported
Srikantaiah: Bangalore uses 6.6% of Karnataka's Cauvery water but generates 70% GDP
“However, Bangalore only takes 6.66% of Karnatka's allocation of Cauvery waters, and supports roughly 50% of Karnatka's population in the Cauvery basin. It also generates 70% of the GDP of the state.”
Assertion Supported
Srikantaiah: Bangalore's water board employs zero hydrogeologists despite 500,000 city borewells
“Just to give you an example, the Bangalore Water Supply and Storage Board does not have a single hydrogeologist. The city has 500,000 bore wells at least. It pumps out six hundred million liters per day. But the institution does not have a single hydrogeologis…”
Assertion Partly supported
Srikantaiah: Excavating two five-star hotels completely drained surrounding Bangalore aquifers
“There was a five-star hotel built close to Mount Carmel College and one near Macri Circle. They pumped out groundwater for four to six months, completely emptying all the wells in the surrounding areas. Emptying the aquifer totally.”
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Srikantaiah: 2°C warming could make Indian cities unlivable within five years
“If we hit two degrees Celsius,
It will, with urban heat island and fast evaporation of water, even in five years, it will become unlivable.”