A routine announcement in the newspapers proclaimed “Bengaluru will experience a 24-hour water cut from February 27th, 6 am to February 28th, 6 am, for maintenance and meter installation”. The water scarcity in the city is much more acute than the initial reports indicated. The summer of 2024 will see a parched city. The scarcity has hit the entire city but the areas which are not connected to the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewage Board pipe lines have been hit the hardest. The unchecked growth of the city, over exploitation of ground water, an inadequate monsoon and non-implementation of water schemes have been responsible for the current situation.
A possible solution
Ask any naval person who has sailed on a warship and he will tell you how well-trained he is in conserving water. On board a ship, water is an extremely precious cargo. A sailor is appointed as the ‘Fresh Water Tankey” who in turn controls the supply of fresh water – quantity, timing, duration et al.
I was serving on a “Petya Class Frigate” of the Indian Navy and still remember our extended deployment off Chittagong Harbour in March 1971, prior to the war. We ran short of many essential supplies such as diesel oil, fresh rations and most importantly, fresh water. It was an excruciating time for all on board. Drinking water was rationed to a few bottles per head. Bathing was totally out of the question. One day, nature took pity on us and the heavens opened. The ship’s broadcast announced “Hands to Bathing Stations”. It was the most exhilarating experience – getting drenched in rain water and watching sailors collecting water in drums. There is something divine about water. There were smiles all around, men jumping with joy, singing and making merry. The ship’s morale had reached a new high.
The Lady of the House was seized with the problem. She immediately summoned an extraordinary meeting of all the stake holders – self cook, part time gardener and the car cleaner. The ‘domestic help’ was very sternly ordered to reduce the flow of water – dish washer and washing machine only once a week, sweeping every day but mopping once a week and so on. Use the ‘Robot Vacuum Cleaner” more often (It consumes one glass of water to mop the whole house). Shivanna the gardener was told in no uncertain terms – ‘You will water the plants with a bucket and mug’ – running water from the pipe will not be used. Much to the delight of Sreenivas, he was ordered to wipe the car only once a week.
Decades after retirement from the navy, I still have a little bit of salt running through my veins. With many years of experience in water management, I thought I would be spared the lecture. LOH turned to me and said, ‘Just take a shower in the golf course after the game, collect all the water from the solar heater till it turns hot, use the flush sparingly, drink soda instead of a whisky/water and don’t leave the tap on during shaving.’ As a result, the family was fully primed to fight the water war!
Peace and tranquillity (P & T) reigned albeit for a very short duration. The next morning. we woke up to a rude shock. There was no water in the tap. All hell broke loose. Fortunately for us, our daughter dear lives next door, so we were able to shelve the problem a little longer. On my return from golf, I immediately ordered a water tanker. He supplied me 1000 litres of water, which was more than sufficient to tide over the situation. I proudly declared to the LOH that I had risen to the occasion. P & T was restored once again.
Come the next morning, peace was shattered once again. Taps were dry again and I was totally flummoxed. That’s when I decided to take the bull by the horns. I went to the backyard to inspect the water tank and the rest of the arrangements.
To my surprise and astonishment, I found that the inlet pipe to the dish washer had been completely gnawed through by a rat. Water had leaked out slowly through the night.
I was pretty ‘Rat tled’
We are back to normal. The inlet pipe has been made Rat Proof. We have started praying to “Karni Mata” the patroness of rats. In the small town of Deshnoke, close to Bikaner, Rajasthan in India, is located Karni Mata temple. Some 20,000 rats call this temple home.
Captain's Corner 