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ALARMING SITUATIONBANGALORE CITY MAY NEVER GET NORMAL RAINFALL AT ALL

M S DIVEKAR

BANGALORE PH 080-23344639B Tech(IIT,M), PGDBM (IIM,A), FIE

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WHAT I AM EXPECTING FROM B- PAC• SITUATION IN BANGALORE IS GRAVE AND IT MAY

NEVER RAIN AGAIN !!!!!• INFLUENTIAL B-PAC MEMBERS NEED TO RAISE AN

ALARM AND NEED TO PRESS THE GOVERNMENT AND AUTHORITIES TO TAKE IMMEDIATE CORRECTIVE ACTION

• IT IS TOTAL FALSE BELIEF THAT PLANTING MORE TREES ALONE WILL SOLVE THE PROBLEM.

• KINDLY LOOK UP LINK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_heat_islands

• URBAN HEAT ISLANDS IS A PHENOMENA WELL EXPLAINED UNDER WIKIPEDIA

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CURRENT SITUATION – AS IN 2013

• LITTLE RAIN IN 2012• VERY LITTLE RAIN IN MARCH 2013 AND NO RAINS

AT ALL IN APRIL• GROUND WATER TABLE IS ALARMING

– NO WATER IN OPEN WELLS– BORE WELL DEPTHS HAVE REACHED NEARLY 2000 FEET.– DAY & NIGHT TEMPERATURES HAVE SHOT UP– BANGALORE IS EXPERIENCING DRY HEAT CONDITIONS– NUMBER OF LAKES IN BANGALORE IS DOWN TO JUST 4

FROM ORIGINAL 400.

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BANGALORE• LOCATION – ALMOST IN THE MIDDLE OF DECCAN

PLATEAU• ABOUT 400 KMS AWAY FROM NEAR BY SEA• 1000 METERS ABOVE SEA LEVEL• EXPECTED RAIN - BOTH FROM NORTH EAST AND

SOUTH WEST MONSOON• SOURCE OF DRINKING WATER – MAINLY FROM

RIVER CAUVERY ABOUT 100 KMS AWAY• CAUSE OF RAIN - WHEN RAIN BEARING CLOUDS

WERE ATTRACTED BY LOT OF OLD TALL GREEN TREES

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WHY NO RAINS IN BANGALORE-1• BUILDINGS USED TO BE BUILT EARLIER USING

BURNT MUD BRICKS• NOW MOST BUILDINGS USED CEMENT BLOCKS

AND GLASS PANELS• MOST NEW BUILDINGS ARE NOW OVER 4 STORIED

HEIGHT – MORE THAN THE TALLEST TREES• ROADS ARE ASPHALTED OR CEMENTED • CEMENT, ASPHALT AND GLASS PANELED

BUILDINGS ARE MAIN CAUSE FOR HEAT ABSORPTION, RETENTION AND RELEASE BY NIGHT

• THERE IS CONVECTION AIR CURRENTS UPWARDS

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WHY NO RAINS IN BANGALORE-2• RAIN BEARING CLOUDS USED TO BE EARLIER

ATTRACTED BY TALL TREES.• GRASS LAWNS, BUSHES ALONE DO NOT HELP.• HOT BUILDINGS TALLER THAN TREES DRIVE AWAY

THE RAINY CLOUDS.• SAME SITUATION DOES NOT APPLY TO CITIES LIKE

MUMBAI, CHENNAI, CALCUTTA, NEW YORK ETC AS THESE ARE ALL ON SEA COAST

• SIMULATION STUDIES NOT CONDUCTED TAKING SPECIFIC CONDITIONS OF EACH CITY.

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WHY NO RAINS IN BANGALORE-3• HOW WILL WE GET RAINS AT ALL?

TREES

TALL TOWERS

TALL TOWERS

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WHY NO RAINS IN BANGALORE-5

• DO NOT FORGET THERMODYNAMICS

BANGALORE AS A CLOSED SYSTEM WITH MANY GADGETS, EQUIPMENTS DOMESTIC AND INDUSTRIAL

ELECTRICAL ENERGY INTO VARIOUS GADGETS PARTIALLY GETS CONVERTED TO HEAT

SUN’S HEAT ENERGY ABSORBED BY BUILDINGS, ROADS, INFRASTRUCTURE

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WHY NO RAINS IN BANGALORE-6

BUILDING AIR-CONDITIONED INSIDE

BUILDING HEAT IS JUST DISPLACED FROM INSIDE TO OUTSIDE, FURTHER THIS ADDITIONALLY INVOLVES SYSTEM LOSS AS HEAT. REFLECTION FROM GLASS PANEL GOES FAR

BEYOND LOCAL NEIGHBORHOOD.

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WHY NO RAINS IN BANGALORE-7• METEOROLOGICAL DEPARTMENT MAKES

POLITICAL STATEMENTS ABOUT RAINS BEING NORMAL – DROUGHT IN SEVERAL PARTS AND FLOODS IN OTHERS DUE TO EXCESSIVE RAINS IS ALSO NORMAL (AVERAGED ACROSS INDIA) RAINFALL.

• URBAN HEAT ISLANDS (UHI) IS VERY WELL EXPLAINED IN WIKIPEDIA

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SO WHAT IS THE SOLUTION-1• DO WE NOW BELIEVE THAT IRREPARABLE

DAMAGE HAS ALREADY BEEN DONE?• CAN ANY GOVERNMENT TAKE A BOLD DECISION

TO PUTTING MORATORIUM ON POULATION OF CITY?

• WHAT IS THE SCIENTIFIC REASON BEHIND ESTABLISHING FSI (FLOOR SPACE INDEX)

• WHAT SHOULD BE MINIMUM DISTANCE BETWEEN TWO TALL BUILDINGS?

• CAN WE HAVE SAME NORM FOR CITIES LIKE BANGALORE (IN DECCAN PLATEAU) AND THOSE ALONG SEA COAST OR ON RIVER BEDS? (CONSIDER GLOBAL REFERENCES)

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SO WHAT IS THE SOLUTION-2• CAN WE HAVE DIFFERENT NORMS FOR ALL CITIES LESS

THAN 50 KMS AND GREATER THAN FROM SEA / RIVER BEDS? • IMMEDIATELY PUT A STOP TO ALL CONSTRUCTIONS ABOVE 4

STORIED BUILDINGS• BUILDING MATERIAL MUST BE ONLY BURNT BRICKS. IT CAN

BE CEMENT/ STEEL FRAME BUT WALLS MUST BE ONLY MUD BURNT BRICKS

• I WOULD SUGGEST A WELL REPUTED ESTABLISHMENT CONDUCT SPECIAL STUDIES AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS ON BUILDING MATERIALS AND ARCHITECTURAL STYLES TO REDUCE UHI EFFECT

• WHAT DO WE DO WITH OLD BUILDINGS WHICH ARE ALREADY BEYOND LIMITS AND HAVE RESULTED IN CURRENT ALARMING SITUATION?

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SO WHAT IS THE SOLUTION-3• HENCE RESEARCH NEED TO FIND ALTERNATE TO ASPHALT /

CEMENT ROADS• RESEARCH NEEDED TO DEVELOP ARTIFICIALLY REPLICATE

FUNCTION OF TALL TREES (WATER IS CARRIED BY TREES BY CAPILLARY ACTION THE ROOTS TO THE LEAVES AND WHICH THEN EVAPORATES WE COULD CONSIDER USING RECYCLED WATER FOR THIS

• MANY INNER ROADS TO BE LAID USING BRICKS INSTEAD OF ASPHALT. MANY EUROPEAN ROADS – ARE MADE OF BRICKS AND DO NOT HAVE POT HOLES LIKE BANGALORE ROADS.

• IT MAY BE NOTED THAT FRONT YARD OF HOUSES IS COW DUNG SMEARED OVER MUD – BUT THIS CANNOT WITHSTAND TRAFFIC LOAD.

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SO WHAT IS THE SOLUTION-4

• CAN ALTERNATE CITIES WHICH ARE MINIMUM 100 KMS AWAY FROM BANGALORE BE DEVELOPED

• CAN THESE LESSONS BE APPLIED TO ALL URBAN CENTERS WHICH FAR AWAY FROM SEA COAST? CAN WE HAVE PERMANENT BAN ON CEMENT / GLASS FAÇADE TEC AND DEVELOP ALTERNATE MATERIALS –SPECIFICALLY FOCUSING ON ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY NATURE IN ADDITION TO OTHER BASIC PROPERTIES