Water crisis: B’luru losing sheen as IT hub

Any form of disruption is not welcomed by the corporates, be it infrastructure issues, or civic issues like water crisis or flooding. Bengaluru as a city has to do more to retain its leadership position as the IT centre because competition is tough from other cities - Supaul Chanda, Head (Global Business), Otomeyt, tells Bizz Buzz

Bengaluru: Bengaluru will lose its attractiveness as the IT hub of India if the crippling infrastructure issues and current water problems are not addressed urgently. According to industry officials, cities like Hyderabad, Pune and tier-II cities are emerging as new centres for IT development owing to better infrastructure and civic facilities. In this context, policy makers have to act urgently to provide better facilities in Bengaluru for retaining its pole position as the nerve centre of Indian IT industry.

“Any form of disruption is not welcomed by the corporates, be it infrastructure issues, or civic issues like water crisis or flooding. Bengaluru as a city has to do more to retain its leadership position as the IT centre because competition is tough from other cities,” said Supaul Chanda, Head (Global Business) at Otomeyt, a talent engineering firm, told Bizz Buzz.

Bengaluru is facing severe water crisis, leading to taps running dry in certain areas. The IT hubs of the city including Electronics City and Whitefield Area- which house majority of large IT companies- are facing the burnt of such crisis.

Sources in the know said IT firms have to rely on water tankers to provide water availability in offices. Such is the case that the return to office drive has now been deferred from some days.

“Owing to water crisis, many staffers are asked to work from home for some days in the week. Though the problem has eased a bit with the State government taking necessary measures, but it will not go away till there is ample amount of rainfall,” said a mid-level employee of a Bengaluru-headquartered IT firm.

Industry experts attribute the water scarcity to rapid urbanisation, inadequate planning, unequal distribution, poor water management, and apathy of the local government. This problem has aggravated this year with less than adequate rainfall, which led to low water availability from water bodies.

Earlier images of people lining up in front of water tankers to collect water have shown the extent of crisis faced in the city.

Meanwhile, technology firms working in the generation of water from alternate sources have opined that the city has to tap other avenues of water sources apart from rainwater harvesting.

“This issue of water shortage is not limited to Bengaluru. We have seen such scarcity in other areas also. That’s why alternate technology, better water usage, smart water metering, rainwater harvesting, and sewage treatment have to be followed. Through our atmospheric water generation technology, water availability can be augmented during such crisis,” Navkaran Singh Bagga, Founder & CEO of Akvo Atmospheric Water Systems, told Bizz Buzz.

He also said that the company is already operating with many corporate houses in Bengaluru to help them generate water from atmospheric air.