Rivers of Bengaluru Graphic : Adapted from a display panel developed for the River Experience Centre by LVBL and Socratus Foundation for Collective Wisdom.
Bengaluru’s rivers are part of a much larger waterscape. Lakes, rajakaluves, smaller streams, groundwater, wetlands and wastewater are connected by the way water moves through the city and its surrounding landscapes. Along the way, these waters shape forests and wildlife habitats, support livelihoods and create spaces for people to gather and spend time by the water.
Bengaluru Urban District is home to five rivers: the Arkavathi, Dakshina Pinakini, Vrishabhavathi, Chinnar and Suvarnamukhi. These are monsoon-fed seasonal rivers. Under natural conditions, they have stronger flows during the monsoon and leaner flows during the summer. But today, their flows tell a very different story.
Some stretches remain completely dry because the chains of tanks built along the rivers and streams are themselves are barely full and rarely overflow. Elsewhere, the rivers flow through much of the year. These flows are sustained largely by wastewater from urban and rural areas.
Over time, we have come to see Bengaluru as a city of lakes and rajakaluves while largely losing sight of the rivers and streams that connect them.
Building on Earlier Work
Some of what you see here was earlier developed and shared through Paani.Earth. Our attempt is to bring it together here along with what we have learnt since.
Explore Bengaluru’s Waterscapes
Understand Bengaluru’s water as a whole or explore its individual river systems in greater detail.
