Cape Town shares water management strategies with Bengaluru

A delegation from Cape Town, South Africa, recently visited Bengaluru, India, to share successful water and energy conservation strategies. They spent two days discussing how both cities can work together and improve tourism. Cape Town has made significant progress in water management after facing a severe crisis in the past. Alderman James Vos, a city leader, highlighted that Cape Town managed to reduce water consumption by 50%. They developed a system that allows citizens to monitor water levels in real-time. If levels dropped below a certain point, the water supply would be stopped. This approach involved transparency and citizen participation, which helped the city overcome its crisis. During their visit, the delegation also noted that Bengaluru is dealing with its own water issues. Local authorities are taking steps to avoid future problems by replacing old pipelines, improving wastewater treatment, and promoting rainwater harvesting. In addition to water management, the Cape Town officials proposed enhancing travel between the two cities. They are looking for direct flights from Bengaluru to Cape Town to make travel easier for tourists. Vos mentioned that there is strong interest in direct flights and that they are working on an agreement to make this happen in the future.