What is in news : The Vrishabhavathi Valley has suffered permanent damage due to indiscriminate dumping of sewage, solid waste and debris has altered the physical and chemical integrity, says a report by NEERI.

Details :

• The interim report was submitted by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) to the High Court of Karnataka
• A study of the drains between the KSR Bengaluru railway station and Sankey Tank as well as the networks in RR Nagar and Dasarahalli zones was undertaken. It was found that:
  • Sewage flow to the valley would go up from the present 576 MLD (million of litre per day) to 720 MLD by 2023. Currently, only 54% of the raw sewage is treated before it enters the river.
  • While solid waste dumping is the most common feature in all the drains, industrial effluents are seen in drains in the Dasarahalli zone
  • Entire river stretches, including various drains, were filled with all types of solid waste. It is like any waste that is too inconvenient to be thrown anywhere else finds its way into Vrishabhavati river banks
• Measures for treatment:
  • Treating all the sewage that runs into the valley
  • Carrying out a detailed survey of the valley
  • Removing encroachments to regular removal of silt and raising public awareness regarding Vrishabhavathi.
  • Demarcating a buffer zone of 30 metres for lakes and 15 metres for stormwater drains and erecting a six-foot-high fence at a distance of one metre from the river
  • Surveying the whole 54–km stretch of the valley, fencing the periphery, stopping the flow of all wastewater and desilting within the next one and a half years.
• IMPACT: The Urban Development Department has set a six-month deadline to assess the encroachments on the banks of Vrishabhavathi Valley, and directed the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board to regularly monitor the wastewater and lake water for the next three months.

About the river

• Location : Bangalore
• An inscription on the 17th century Nandi in Basavangudi,Bangalore mentions the place as the source of a river. Vrishabhavathi, (Vrishaba, Bull) , it is claimed, flows underground for a while before emerging as a proper rivulet. That flow now, hardly resembles living waters.
• Mouth : River Arkavathi (which is tributary of Cauvery) at dodamudavadi in Ramnagar.