PLANNING PROPOSALS FOR SUSTAINABLE WATER SUPPLY FOR BHOPAL

Abstract

Bhopal the capital of Madhya Pradesh is known as the "City of Lakes". There are seven lakes in Bhopal. There was a time when water was in surplus in Bhopal and people thought that it would be available in abundance as free gift of nature now it become scarce commodity. The fast pace of urbanization (40% decadal growth), negligence of water resources of the city (Upper lake gets polluted due to lack of maintenance and garbage disposal), over exploitation of groundwater (ground water has gone down to 250 feet from 80-100 feet in last 3 years only), Contamination of ground water (area around Union Carbide factory), wastage of water in the past few years and less amount of rainfall (718 mm in past four years, although avg. annual precipitation is 1209 mm), now the situation became such that there are people who do not even get sufficient water to drink. The level of water of the lakes is decreasing at an alarming rate. People have to stand in long queues to get water. Despite of this entire people are continuously wasting water and not caring about the circumstances. In this context, the dissertation shall aim "to workout planning. proposals for sustainable water supply for Bhopal", simultaneously highlighting the issues of water scarcity in the Bhopal through the analysis of the reasons for this crisis. Further, it shall explore into the various measures & probabilities to mitigate the crisis in sustainable manner.