Shortly after I came back from Ambalipura, I received my next site
location from Shubha ma'am. This time I would be documenting some old open
wells in Indira Nagar, most of them dating back to the late seventies. A
certain Ms X, one of the well owners and a friend of Biome, had offered
to show us around the neighborhood and make the necessary
introductions. Since there would at least nine different houses to visit
for this project, I decided to do my fieldwork in two separate trips.
For this assignment, I’d be working with Alana, another intern on Biome’s water team. While it was primarily my job to conduct the interviews and mark the wells on the Mapunity phone app, Alana would be helping me think of on-the-spot questions and additional details. She’d also be taking the photographs: something I couldn’t do too well, as my phone camera had been damaged recently. We met a few minutes ahead of time in Indira Nagar and talked briefly about the methodology we’d use with each interviewee. Then once we had revised what exactly to look for, we went over to 12th Cross, Stage I, where Ms X lived.
When we reached her house, Ms X first gave us a history of the area. Apparently, Indira Nagar – or Binnamangala, as it was once known – had once been a swamp owned by a local chieftain. When the British took over, they bought this land and started using it as a direct route to the Bangalore Fort. After independence, it changed hands quickly. Initially it ended up with a certain well-founded family, but a while later, got into the hands of IPS officers granted land by the central government. In the seventies it was divided into layouts. Finally, it was divided among upcoming entrepreneurs, military families and so on.
With every passing decade it became less of a swamp and more of a residential area. When Ms X arrived in 1983, Indira Nagar was a quiet place with mostly single story houses. Water was never a problem, and nearly every family had its own open well. By the early 2000s, though, things had changed rapidly: urbanization had brought in large numbers of immigrants from the neighboring states (and even the north), resulting in more houses being rented out to tenants.
Simultaneously people began to change their attitudes to their surroundings, no longer feeling emotionally invested in the land they lived on. Many of the original settlers in the area had left the country with their families to work abroad. Those that remained found that they were the last of a dying breed. Nevertheless, they continued to live like they had before, refusing to sell their land or cover their open wells although real estate was booming and the groundwater table was rapidly dropping. And all the while, metropolitan Bengaluru grew around them, drowning out the voices of the old city.
Having recollected her memories to us, Ms X then took us to nine houses that still had open wells, starting with her own. Over two days we documented each well in as much detail as possible, encouraging the owners to not only give us numbers and figures, but also share with us their experiences with the water crisis. All of them were eager to talk to us about their stories, and it was with some regret each time that I had to remind them that I didn’t have immediate solutions to their problems.
The wells surveyed are listed below, with the details that the owners didn’t mind us sharing online. Of all the houses we visited, only the last one still regularly uses water from its open well. Everyone else has shifted to either borewells or the Kaveri water.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Well 1
Address: 20, 12th Cross, Stage I, Indira Nagar
Diameter: 3 ft
Depth: 20 ft
Age: 34 years
Last cleaned: About 20 years ago.
Purpose: NA
Water level: The well has never yielded water.
Well 2
Address: 86, 11th Cross, Stage I, Indira Nagar
Diameter: 3 ft
Depth: 30 ft
Age: ~40 years
Last cleaned: Unknown
Purpose: NA
Water level: The well has been dry ever since the house was purchased, and hence remains unused.
Well 3
Address: 22, 12th Cross
Diameter: 3 ft
Depth: 24 ft
Age: 32 years
Last cleaned: 5 years back.
Purpose: NA
Water level: The well fills up a little when it rains. Besides that, it is usually dry, and has been so for five years.
Other information: Two rings were added to the well when it dried up five years back – but the well remains dry.
Well 4
Address: 11th Cross
Diameter: 2.5 ft
Depth: 20 ft
Age: 47 years
Last cleaned: NA
Purpose: NA
Water level: No one maintains the well, and hence, the little water it contains is never used.
Well 5
Address: 217, 6th Cross
Diameter: 3 ft
Depth: 22 ft
Age: 50 years
Last cleaned: NA
Purpose: Recharge.
Water level: It fills halfway when there is a rain, but otherwise, remains dry.
Well 6
Address: 223, 7th Cross (12.9804060, 77.6399192)
Diameter: 3 ft
Depth: 22 ft
Age: 40 years
Last cleaned: 2 years ago
Purpose: Recharging the borewell.
Water level: The well fills up a little when there is rain.
Other information: The well water was initially used for all purposes, until fifteen years ago, when the owner added an extension to the house for renting out. A borewell was dug for convenience. As of now, the borewell is not used: the sole water source is the Kaveri.
Well 7
Address: 176, 9th Cross (12.980594, 77.639442)
Diameter: 2.5 ft
Depth: 20 ft
Age: 52 years
Last cleaned: The well has not been cleaned for a couple of years, mainly because it has been difficult to find anyone to do the job.
Purpose: Gardening
Water level: The well is dry except during rains.
Other information: The well had water for 45 years (although for the last five years of that, the water was salty and brackish). It was used for all purposes. Borewells have greatly reduced the water table, and as of now the well is solely rainfed. If there is continuous rain for two weeks or so, it fills up and retains water for 15-30 days. The owner's main water source now is the Kaveri.
Well 8
Address: 175, 9th Cross (12.980592, 77.639445)
Diameter: 3 ft
Depth: 20 ft
Age: 50 years
Last cleaned: Not known
Purpose: NA
Water level: The well has been empty for the last 4-5 years, exempting when the occasional heavy rains fill it up.
Other information: For the last 4-5 years, the well has not yielded any water. Since then, the owner has been forced to use corporation water and borewell water. Five years ago, the borewell found water at 150 ft, but now that has fallen sharply.
Well 9
Address: 216/A, 6th Cross (12.982207, 77.640019)
Diameter: 2.5 ft
Depth: 14 ft
Age: 44 years
Last cleaned: 1.5 years ago.
Purpose: Water is drawn from the well when corporation water is unavailable. Then it is used for all purposes.
Water level: The well has water at a depth of about 10-12 feet from the top. Water levels have always been this low.
Other information: The water looked clear and potable. When tested for quality, it yielded the following results.
- Arun Rams
For this assignment, I’d be working with Alana, another intern on Biome’s water team. While it was primarily my job to conduct the interviews and mark the wells on the Mapunity phone app, Alana would be helping me think of on-the-spot questions and additional details. She’d also be taking the photographs: something I couldn’t do too well, as my phone camera had been damaged recently. We met a few minutes ahead of time in Indira Nagar and talked briefly about the methodology we’d use with each interviewee. Then once we had revised what exactly to look for, we went over to 12th Cross, Stage I, where Ms X lived.
When we reached her house, Ms X first gave us a history of the area. Apparently, Indira Nagar – or Binnamangala, as it was once known – had once been a swamp owned by a local chieftain. When the British took over, they bought this land and started using it as a direct route to the Bangalore Fort. After independence, it changed hands quickly. Initially it ended up with a certain well-founded family, but a while later, got into the hands of IPS officers granted land by the central government. In the seventies it was divided into layouts. Finally, it was divided among upcoming entrepreneurs, military families and so on.
With every passing decade it became less of a swamp and more of a residential area. When Ms X arrived in 1983, Indira Nagar was a quiet place with mostly single story houses. Water was never a problem, and nearly every family had its own open well. By the early 2000s, though, things had changed rapidly: urbanization had brought in large numbers of immigrants from the neighboring states (and even the north), resulting in more houses being rented out to tenants.
Simultaneously people began to change their attitudes to their surroundings, no longer feeling emotionally invested in the land they lived on. Many of the original settlers in the area had left the country with their families to work abroad. Those that remained found that they were the last of a dying breed. Nevertheless, they continued to live like they had before, refusing to sell their land or cover their open wells although real estate was booming and the groundwater table was rapidly dropping. And all the while, metropolitan Bengaluru grew around them, drowning out the voices of the old city.
Having recollected her memories to us, Ms X then took us to nine houses that still had open wells, starting with her own. Over two days we documented each well in as much detail as possible, encouraging the owners to not only give us numbers and figures, but also share with us their experiences with the water crisis. All of them were eager to talk to us about their stories, and it was with some regret each time that I had to remind them that I didn’t have immediate solutions to their problems.
The wells surveyed are listed below, with the details that the owners didn’t mind us sharing online. Of all the houses we visited, only the last one still regularly uses water from its open well. Everyone else has shifted to either borewells or the Kaveri water.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Well 1
Address: 20, 12th Cross, Stage I, Indira Nagar
Diameter: 3 ft
Depth: 20 ft
Age: 34 years
Last cleaned: About 20 years ago.
Purpose: NA
Water level: The well has never yielded water.
Well 2
Address: 86, 11th Cross, Stage I, Indira NagarDiameter: 3 ft
Depth: 30 ft
Age: ~40 years
Last cleaned: Unknown
Purpose: NA
Water level: The well has been dry ever since the house was purchased, and hence remains unused.
Well 3
Address: 22, 12th Cross
Diameter: 3 ft
Depth: 24 ft
Age: 32 years
Last cleaned: 5 years back.
Purpose: NA
Water level: The well fills up a little when it rains. Besides that, it is usually dry, and has been so for five years.
Other information: Two rings were added to the well when it dried up five years back – but the well remains dry.
Well 4
Address: 11th Cross
Diameter: 2.5 ft
Depth: 20 ft
Age: 47 years
Last cleaned: NA
Purpose: NA
Water level: No one maintains the well, and hence, the little water it contains is never used.
Well 5
Address: 217, 6th Cross
Diameter: 3 ft
Depth: 22 ft
Age: 50 years
Last cleaned: NA
Purpose: Recharge.
Water level: It fills halfway when there is a rain, but otherwise, remains dry.
Well 6
Address: 223, 7th Cross (12.9804060, 77.6399192)
Diameter: 3 ft
Depth: 22 ft
Age: 40 years
Last cleaned: 2 years ago
Purpose: Recharging the borewell.
Water level: The well fills up a little when there is rain.
Other information: The well water was initially used for all purposes, until fifteen years ago, when the owner added an extension to the house for renting out. A borewell was dug for convenience. As of now, the borewell is not used: the sole water source is the Kaveri.
Well 7
Address: 176, 9th Cross (12.980594, 77.639442)
Diameter: 2.5 ft
Depth: 20 ft
Age: 52 years
Last cleaned: The well has not been cleaned for a couple of years, mainly because it has been difficult to find anyone to do the job.
Purpose: Gardening
Water level: The well is dry except during rains.
Other information: The well had water for 45 years (although for the last five years of that, the water was salty and brackish). It was used for all purposes. Borewells have greatly reduced the water table, and as of now the well is solely rainfed. If there is continuous rain for two weeks or so, it fills up and retains water for 15-30 days. The owner's main water source now is the Kaveri.
Well 8
Address: 175, 9th Cross (12.980592, 77.639445)
Diameter: 3 ft
Depth: 20 ft
Age: 50 years
Last cleaned: Not known
Purpose: NA
Water level: The well has been empty for the last 4-5 years, exempting when the occasional heavy rains fill it up.
Other information: For the last 4-5 years, the well has not yielded any water. Since then, the owner has been forced to use corporation water and borewell water. Five years ago, the borewell found water at 150 ft, but now that has fallen sharply.
Well 9
Address: 216/A, 6th Cross (12.982207, 77.640019)
Diameter: 2.5 ft
Depth: 14 ft
Age: 44 years
Last cleaned: 1.5 years ago.
Purpose: Water is drawn from the well when corporation water is unavailable. Then it is used for all purposes.
Water level: The well has water at a depth of about 10-12 feet from the top. Water levels have always been this low.
Other information: The water looked clear and potable. When tested for quality, it yielded the following results.
- Salinity: 390 RPM
- Conductivity: 826 uS
- ph: 7.5 (uncalibrated)
- Total Dissolved Solids: 570 PPM
- E. coli test: the water turned black, confirming the presence of the microbe.
- Arun Rams
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