Lockdown and a river's health

Vrishabhavathi has no white froth, but the water still remains black and smelly. PHOTO by author

About two days ago, I heard chatter on my street and witnessed a smattering of posts on social media claiming that Bengaluru’s only river--the Vrishabhavathi--was getting cleaner because of the lockdown. Naturally, I was enthused that nature was healing itself, cleaning itself.

The Vrishabhavathi is believed to originate from different parts of Bengaluru--one part of the stream is said to originate from Malleswaram, while another part of the stream starts from Basavanagudi’s Bugle Rock. From Basavanagudi, the river meanders along Mysuru Road and flows towards Byramangala. I was just a stone’s throw away from the path of the river, and after talking to an environmentalist, felt compelled to visit the river.

My brief journey began at the Nayandahalli junction. Under the crisscrossing flyovers, and the overhead metro line, the river gurgled quietly. I could smell the river even before I could see it. It had no white froth, which was encouraging but the water still remained black and smelly.

From there I followed the river along its snaking path, passing Rajarajeshwari Nagar and Bangalore University gate, to Kengeri. Needless to say, the condition of the river did not get any better.

According to Dr. Sharachchandra Lele of the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment (ATREE) this was to be expected. “The black colour and the foul smell emanate from untreated or badly treated domestic sewage that goes into the river. As for the frothing, it is unclear what is causing it. It might be phosphate in detergents or some kind of bacteria, and the government is not cooperating with us to conduct research,” he said.

Dr Lele also said that the industrial effluents that are released into the river near Peenya industrial area may have come down, but it is unclear if the industrial effluents were causing the foaming in the first place.

S Vishwanath, a water conservation expert, explained that in many parts of the city where the flow of the water is not turbulent, the froth and foam may disappear. “As you travel downstream towards Byramangala and areas where the river is open to irrigation facilities, the river might start frothing again,” he said.

The lockdown might have brought in a marginal improvement in the water quality of Vrishabhavathi, a river that still grows heavy with the waste from the city as it joins River Arkavathy, but S Vishwanath warns that even this improvement is only temporary, “The environmental benefits are only short-lived. Reform has to be systematic for us to see improvement,” he concluded.