Water Worries and Land Protests Challenge Bengaluru's AI Boom

In Bengaluru, a major technology city in southern India, the push to grow the artificial intelligence industry is running into two big problems. Residents say nearby data centres are using up large amounts of the local water supply. Farmers outside the city are also fighting plans to take over their land to build a new tech township. The situation is forcing the state government of Karnataka to think carefully about how to balance technology growth with the needs of everyday people.

Bengaluru already has 31 data centres up and running, with more being planned. Data centres are large buildings filled with computers that store and process information. They need a lot of water to keep their equipment cool, which is putting extra pressure on a city that already struggles to provide enough water for its residents.

In Electronic City, a busy tech and industrial zone in Bengaluru, IT executive Pranay Dubey leads a citizens' group that tracks water problems. He says about 150 housing estates in the area do not have access to the city's piped water supply. Because of this, families must pay for private water tankers just to meet their daily needs. Dubey believes data centres are making the shortage much worse for everyone nearby.

Dubey told reporters that data centres are 'multiplying the impact of water scarcity on the residents.' His words show just how serious the problem has become for thousands of families. Many residents feel the tech industry is growing faster than the city's ability to support basic needs like clean water.

Karnataka's Home Minister Priyank Kharge also oversees the state's technology sector. He has admitted that data centres use a lot of resources and said the government is looking at solutions to make them more eco-friendly. These include using treated wastewater, switching to liquid cooling systems, and relying more on renewable energy like solar power. 'We want to see how we can make it greener, better, more sustainable,' he said.

The water issue is not the only challenge facing Bengaluru's AI expansion. The state government has also proposed a large new township near a town called Bidadi, southwest of Bengaluru. The plan sets aside more than 800 hectares — an area bigger than 1,000 football fields — for AI-related businesses. To build this township, the government needs to take over farmland from local villages.

Farmers in the area have been protesting this plan for more than 18 months. They say the land is rich and fertile, used to grow crops like betel nuts, coconuts, and bananas. Some farmers also raise silkworms to produce silk, a practice called sericulture. Losing this land, they argue, would destroy their way of life and take away their only income.

One of those protesting is a 45-year-old woman named Neela, a mother of three. Her family owns about 4 hectares of farmland that has been passed down through generations. Money earned from silk farming and betel nut growing helps pay for her children's education. She says no amount of money can replace what the land means to her family.

Despite the protests, the Karnataka government issued an official notice in June to acquire about 210 hectares across three villages as the first step of the project. A month later, the government promised that no land would be taken by force. It also set up a committee to review the township plan and listen to different points of view from the public.

Minister Kharge said the government understands the value of farming but believes industrial growth is also needed. 'We are an agrarian economy and it's always good to be that. But at the same time, there needs to be a healthy balance of industrialisation,' he said. Finding that balance — between protecting farmland and building a modern tech industry — remains one of Karnataka's biggest challenges.