About Vidyaranyapura
Vidyaranyapura is located in Northern Bengaluru. In the 90s, many residents built wells to tap into the shallow aquifer to source groundwater for the construction of their homes and to meet household needs.
This three-series blog documents three wells found in different parts of Vidyaranyapura.
An Old Well in Vidyaranyapura
In an old house on 2nd Cross, 7th Main Road of BEL Layout stands a 30-year-old well (13. 0733493, 77. 5566322). The water from this well was used for the construction of the building. After the completion of the building, the well water was utilized for cleaning and washing until it dried up after ten years of regular use.
The well-owner recounts, ‘We used (the) water from this well for the construction of this house. (After that, in the early 2000s) we were getting borewell water that was supplied by BEL…’. Around 2010, when the layout was provided with piped water by BBMP, this household like many others switched to Cauvery water.
Today, the well is recharged by the rainwater channeled from the rooftop.
Fig: The 30-year-old well in BEL Layout.
This well stands testimonial to the changes in the water supply that BEL Layout has seen over the last three decades.
Currently, most wells in Vidyaranyapura have been abandoned or converted into rainwater harvesting structures, due to the steady supply of Cauvery water and the wells drying up in the early 2000s.
(Click this link to read the second part of the series — a perennial well located in the Vidyaranyapura BWSSB office.)