The Arkavathy River, Hesaraghatta and the Bangalore Population
- maya chebrol
- Mar 12, 2021
- 3 min read
The Arkavathy river is one of the tributary rivers of the Kaveri river. This river starts on the Nandi Hills and flows throughout Bangalore, till it reaches the Kaveri river about 35 km south of Kanakapura. The Arkavathy river was the main water source of Bangalore and a few of the surrounding regions for over 100 years. Before it reaches the Kaveri river, it passes through many reservoirs, including the one in Hesaraghatta.
Hesaraghatta
One of the most famous reservoirs of the Arkavathy river is located in Hesaraghatta, which has been almost completely dry for the last 30 years. This reservoir has a lot of historical importance because this area is a hub for various species. It is home to about 240 different species of birds. Most of them are immigrants from the Himalayas. They come here during the winter season.
This area is also home to over 400 different types of Insects, 10 species of wild animals, 13 species of frogs and toads, and 100 different types of Butterflies were discovered in this area. Can you believe that? There are still probably many species in this one area which are yet to be discovered. With an area packed with wildlife, this water body in Hesaraghatta is extremely important. Most of the water that comes into this lake comes either from rainwater or the Arkavathy river.
The lake in Hesaraghatta has almost completely dried up. This lake is about 1912 acres big, but it is dry grassland now. Now, this river has almost next to no water. Quite sad isn’t it?
As the years progressed, the amount of rainfall in this area has remained the same, but the number of people living here increased. Due to this sudden increase, the water in the Arkavathy depleted.
About 30 years ago, the Arkavathy lake overflowed for the last time before the Bangalore population began to soar. Due to this sudden increase, the water in this river started to disappear.
After the water disappeared, the people living in Bangalore started to get their water supply directly from the river Kaveri, which was also not the only water source. People began to dig borewells in different areas around Bangalore. They started to exhaust the water underground also.
Why is there less water in the Arkavathy river?
In 1989, the river Arkavathy overflowed for the last time before it started to deplete drastically. This depletion was because of the rise in population in and around Bangalore. This rapid decrease in the water levels is what makes the river Arkavathy famous.
This graph shows an approximation when you try and compare the water levels with the population in Bangalore:
As this graph shows, around 1989, the population in Bangalore started to increase. Because of this increase, the level of water in the river started to go down.
There were a lot of studies made based on the reasons why this water had gone down, and the main reason for that, which a lot of observations have shown, is the population increase. Even after this populating increase, people didn’t take steps to preserve this lake. Now, it can be seen that this river is extremely polluted, because of the garbage thrown around it, and the lack of attention.
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