BENGALURU: With the prevailing drought-like situation in Bengaluru, one of the city’s largest green spaces, the Lalbagh Botanical Garden, is also facing water shortage. The ground water level in all four borewells has dropped drastically and Horticulture Department now plans to drill two new borewells.
With water scarcity increasing in the city ensuring adequate drinking water itself has become a challenge. the sprawling Lalbagh, spread over 240 acres, has over 2,800 different species of plants and trees and ensuring water for them is a big challenge during the summer. It is said that the ground water in the borewells has drained and there is disruption in water supply.
Jagadish, Joint Director, Department of Horticulture, said, “Watering through sprinklers once a week is enough during the monsoon. However, watering plants once every three days is no longer sufficient. Now we plan to propose two new borewells. We were watering the entire garden in 4-5 hours, but now we need at least 6 to 7 hours. Currently, we are somehow managing using treated waste water, but when the water in borewells dry up, we will need some other water sources in the future. As it is, there is a need more water now”, he pointed out.