Tue May 13 03:30:00 UTC 2025: ## Bengaluru Exhibition Highlights City’s Vanishing Rivers, Offers Hope for Revival
**Bengaluru, May 13, 2025** – A new exhibition, “Waterscapes of Bengaluru: Flows and Futures of our City’s Rivers and Lakes,” has opened at the Visvesvaraya Industrial and Technological Museum (VITM), showcasing the city’s dwindling water resources and highlighting potential solutions. The exhibition, a collaboration between VITM and the Paani Earth Foundation, runs until Independence Day.
Once known as the “city of a thousand lakes,” Bengaluru’s historical network of rivers, including the Arkavathi, Vrishabhavathi, and Dakshina Pinakini, has been severely impacted by rapid urbanization and population growth. The exhibition uses interactive displays, games, and hands-on activities to educate visitors about the ecological consequences of this decline, including heavily polluted rivers, over-reliance on groundwater, and the high cost of pumping water from the Cauvery River. The city now draws over 50% of its water from groundwater sources, a stark contrast to its past reliance on a complex system of interconnected lakes and tanks.
The exhibition also celebrates successful water conservation initiatives, such as the K-100 project and the Million Wells Campaign, showcasing citizen-led efforts to rejuvenate lakes and protect urban wetlands. It emphasizes the need for a holistic approach to water management, urging collaboration between citizens, organizations, and scientific institutions. Curators stress the importance of viewing water not simply as a resource, but as a living entity with cultural and emotional significance. By combining historical accounts, scientific data, and artistic expression, the exhibition aims to inspire a renewed commitment to sustainable water practices in Bengaluru.
First Piper 