Heat and Dust

I’ve been in India for just over a month now.  In that time the day time temperatures have soared from a pleasant 28 degrees to a blistering 36.  Outside of our compound the landscape is brown and shriveled. Choking red dust gets everywhere.  It makes you want to shower several times a day, and at night sleep is only possible with the AC on

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No doubt this collective extra demand for power is the root cause of the power cuts which, always fairly frequent, now affect us daily.  There has also been another memo from ‘the management’ to all residents warning that the consumption of water is unsustainable and getting worse.  Already there is a moratorium on washing cars, although this is widely ignored.  Now they say if the situation doesn’t change they may have to drain the swimming pool!

No doubt the problem is exacerbated by the ubiquitous Reverse Osmosis machines fitted in almost every house and apartment.  The RO machines plumbed into the mains take the widely distrusted tap water and produce sparkling pure potable water.  But for every glass of Adam’s ale they give, over two litres of waste water is poured down the sink.  Of course we try to make use of what we can, collecting it in jugs and using it to water the pot plants.  But it becomes a bit oppressive, and there’s only so much that the plants can drink.  But over consumption is merely the proximate cause of the drought.  The roots go much deeper and wider.

Bangalore is classified as a tropical savannah region.  Average yearly rainfall here is 975mm (38 inches), not much less than Manchester’s, but nearly all of that occurs during the five months of the year when the monsoons blow.

As something of a boom town the city and surrounding region has seen spectacular growth in the past few decades.  In 1961 the population was 1.2m, the sixth largest city in India.  Today, driven by manufacturing, IT and even the Indian space programme, the population now stands at around 9m, the third largest in India.  That number includes a higher proportion of affluent middle class Indians who expect to enjoy a first world standard of living.  However, the region saw heated disputes over water 100 years ago, and all that extra population only makes the situation worse.

 A beautiful new airport opened 40km North West of the city in 2008.  It compares favourably with any similar new airport in Asia: Bangkok, Hong Kong, Kansai etc.  It has brought a great influx of private investment to the North of the city.   New hotels, restaurants and above all countless new condominiums and walled residential developments are springing up all across the region.  This includes the one where I am staying, which is barely four years old.  But where is the infrastructure to support this growth? Road surfaces are gradually being improved.  There is even a new over overhead expressway linking the airport with the downtown area, or there would be if the money hadn’t dried up half way through.  But what about electricity, or even more pertinently water?

There are few rivers and virtually no standing water.  For domestic use as well as for industry or agriculture, water here comes from boreholes.  But every year they have to go deeper.  According to the Times of India, current wells reach down 1,000 metres to find an adequate supply, and new technology is being sought to extend the range to 2,000 metres.  When one borehole dries up they immediately make plans to sink another, seemingly unaware that the aquifers are all connected underground.

Planning has something of a bad name these days in the west.  In the post communist world it smacks of state interference and petty bureaucracy. In the UK, David Cameron’s libertarian government has fought a sustained campaign against the planners blaming regulation and red tape for holding up much needed growth.  But he and other like minded politicians should take a look at Bangalore.

India is making great strides towards solar power, playing to a natural strength.  Presumably the power cuts will eventually be sorted out.  But where will the water come from?  In the end it may be this more than any other factor that puts a natural cap on development here.