Before the JD(S)-Congress coalition government lost the trust vote, Karnataka deputy CM G. Parameshwara shocked Bangalore residents recently when he announced that there could be a five-year ban on construction of new apartments due to acute water shortage. The government intended to tap water from the Sharavathi, a river 400 km away, to meet Bangalore’s demand by 2035. The reason for this thirst is apparent—the city’s population doubled in the past two decades, and is likely to double again to 50 million by 2050. By then, the water demand will jump to 45 thousand million cubic feet (TMCF), 125 per cent higher than the existing 20 TMCF. The city will need to think ofsources besides the water it gets from the Cauvery, 100 km away.