Day 01

Water, Sanitation and a City-Bengaluru, talk by Prof. Vishwanath Srikanataya

Summary by Anuditha
The lecture series started with a small discussion of, like the city is divided according to gender on basis
of work, employment. Pennya has to be provided with more public toilets as there are more garment
factories and there will be more female workers in the area. The waste and the sewage have Manual
scavenging and Caste as the important element in Indian cities and also shit was described as a social
construct. First it started with the history of toilets and how it started with open defecations and now
we have reached up to four flush toilet system. It was carried through the history of water how it
reaches the city and how people used the water systems in the city from wells, and the first steam
engine was used to pump water and reached 55lpcd water usage per day due to lack of rain and water
in the city, later at present to the piped water system through BWSSB which adopted the metering and
tariff system in the city. There are now the byelaws and regulations for the city to harvest rainwater and
also treat sewage and waste water. The very good examples of reclaimed water were the examples of
the shit to silk, how a farmer treats waste water and grows mulberry plants, which in turn is fed to
silkworms and silk is produced at the end. The other interesting example was shit to wine how farmers
treat sewage in large scales and they used for cultivation of crops mainly the grapes and in turn wine is
produced at the end. The present situation and capacities of main sewage treatment plants were
discussed which is in Bangalore city. Human waste is not at all a waste it’s a resource. The very crucial
aspect of Kolar district reviving water and also an apartment which is the first in the country to drink the
waste water. By doing all this we are enhancing the chain of lakes and flow of water, livelihoods of
fishers and also increasing the economy of the local government, landscapes are getting transformed,
biodiversity is getting increased with birds, Insects. Just a 40sqm area is required per person per day for
the waste to be collected and we can always segregate the urine and use it for cultivation. The concept
of closing the loop has to be followed always that’s the grow, eat, excrete and compost have to be in a
loop never to be broken.50% of the population of Karnataka is dependent on Cauvery basin so we need
to utilize the incoming and the outgoing water. Need to prioritize between ecological, agriculture and
economic /urban issues. Emerging contamination is an issue so we need to fit for treatment plants and
design it in prior. The possibilities were brought out to treat wastewater as has tremendous potential
which is a need for future, hence we need to reuse wastewater.

The Concept of Closing Loop

Summary by Bhoomika U

The speaker spoke about the toilets considering water and waste has a prime factors. Human shit in
Indian is a social concern. Where water and sanitation goes parallel. Water synthesis and waste water
synthesis in the city, which made people realize not to dump waste into waste. In the earlier the
collection of waste in the Sewage farms. He explained about the sanitation systems being used in
Bengaluru cantonment period the sanitary commission in 186. And then the reasons for piped water
system, where exactly the piped water came into existence. And talks about the present day condition
of the water sanitation in Bengaluru where the Caurvey being the primary source for drinking and other
domestic purposes. Cities can be the generators of the water source since it has a better technologies
and advancement. Hence untreated water can also be a treasure to different user group. The speaker
talks about a farmer called Muniraju and his way of irrigating his own farm lands using the waste water.
Where the “town shit is converted into silk.” A case example of treatment system being used in kolar
which is pumped to all the water bodies and intern they are using the treated water for irrigation and
cultivation. This system is mostly used in dry states for collecting and sustaining the water source. Also
explains the two types of waste treatment methods in India that is – Indore method (aerobic method)
and Bengaluru method (anaerobic method), also about other informal ways of waste treatment done in
smaller scale. The city can be seen as an opportunity to provide the resources then seeing it has an
urban consumption of resources cities can be seen as a fertilizer factory. Where human waste is not a
waste but now has become a major resource which have to look upon. The human waste can be used as
fertilizer for growing crops and many other facilities. The waste can be separated into water waste and
sewage waste and understand the mechanism behind treating the waste like foe example 40 sqm of
land is required for a human waste to be absorbed by the land. The new understanding of closing loops
to know the cycle of the waste and how to use them, mostly being used as fertilizers for agriculture.
Questions that to be raised are how do we convert this waste into the resource in the community
toilets. It’s important to understand the ecosystem before designing the factors and layers.

Summary by M Sufiyan

Water and Sanitation in Bangalore, looking at the past of Bangalore how it was evolved in the water
supply system. Earlier Bangalore was dependent on manmade tanks. Neighborhoods surrounded the
lakes and preserved the lake. Scarcity of food happened in Bangalore in the year 1876-78 because there
was no practice of cultivation and also a scarcity of water. The plague outbreak in 1889 forced the town
administration authorities to provide wider roads, open drains, and sewage carrier lines. Localities such
as Basavanagudi and Malleswaram were provided with conservancy roads and a good network of drains
Conservancy lanes were provided in the neighborhoods to get proper service and get rid of unhygienic
life. As Mysore prince formed the government and the British collaborated with him new technologies
were brought. In India first electricity was introduced in Bangalore, after which there was a sudden huge
revolution. Water was pumped from the river to the neighborhoods and lakes were abandoned. Major
source for water supply throughout the city are Arkavathi source, KSR Reservoir, Kabini Reservoir. After
realizing that these lakes are important people started to review these lakes although few lakes were
converted to central bus stands, hockey stadium, parks and malls where flash floods can be seen today.
When it rains, water will have a natural tendency to flow by its natural paths. That is the reason the
Kaluves are designed in such a way that they will collect the water naturally. Natural Water Paths are
most likely going to get converted to stormwater drains (primary/ secondary/ tertiary) in the future, as
they have necessary gradients for the rainwater to flow.

Before toilets were introduced people used to openly defecate away from the neighborhood. After the
toilets were introduced people started adapting this and constructed toilets in their homes. Sewage was
sent to drainages through the pipes. Some homes didn’t have enough space so public toilets were
brought into the picture. As urbanization grew rapidly there was a scarcity of water all over Bangalore.
So sewage treatment plants were made common so that the used water can be treated and reused for
sanitation and agriculture. STP was introduced all over Bangalore. This human waste is also collected
and treated so that it can be used for agriculture purposes and generating electricity at a certain level.
At some point, we can smell the foul smell during this process. This treated water in Bangalore is used at
public toilets and at parks to water the plants. As SBM public toilets are provided all over Bangalore
including the PPP system but are not in a hygienic condition. Avoiding waste disposals on roads and
canals is not only the responsibility of the government but it is public participation and involvement in
the process to maintain all the natural resources and surroundings.