No rainwater harvesting in Thiruvananthapuram corporation building

Thiruvananthapuram: The corporation office building to this day does not have rainwater harvesting system, nor percolation pits. Old timers here say there has never been a proposal to set up a reservoir. It is an omission, the authorities agree. The good news is that the corporation is considering setting up a rainwater harvesting system. When asked why the office does not have a system, Deputy Mayor Rakhi Ravikumar said that the idea never came up for discussion, but should be explored. "The office building normally has enough water supply, probably because of which we never thought of a rainwater harvesting system. We always take pride in this being a solar-powered building. There can be a rainwater harvesting system as well," she said. Mayor V.K. Prasanth was not available for comment.

This year, the budget has set aside a small amount for pond restoration. The previous council had conceived a plan to restore ponds in all wards, making use of Rs 110 crores from JNNURM, according to former Mayor K Chandrika. But they too had never thought of groundwater recharge, or rainwater harvesting, she says. At a time when corporation plans to impose KMBR rules related to rainwater harvesting strictly, the corporation should lead by example, says V Subhash Chandra Bose, water conservation expert.

Technically, there would be no problem in setting up a rainwater harvesting system, say officials. They point out that though it is an old building, there are examples of older buildings like the one at GGHSS Cotton Hill where the system was put in place. There is a technology to collect rainwater directly from solar panels. Even if this is not used, the building has been designed with gutters and drain pipes. All that is needed is a facility to store the water.