Industries Minister R.V. Deshpande on Thursday said that Karnataka was staring at a major water shortage crisis which needed immediate and large scale relief measures.
Speaking at the annual water conference of the CII here, he said “35% of the areas in Bengaluru get water everyday, the rest get water every other day. Borewells are getting deeper. Water will become the main constraint for industrial development by 2020.”
The Minister called upon industries to mitigate the situation by shifting away from urban centers like Bengaluru. “We are all responsible for the situation today. Even the IT sector. You don’t go to Dharwad or Belagavi. You want to be based in Bengaluru. Industries must partner with the government to help increase forest cover and other water conservation projects must be supported.”
