Lakes may regain their lost glory

Dec. 1. Lakes and tanks are in for better times ahead. Thanks to the efforts taken by the Lake Development Authority, the first of its kind in the country, some of the lakes in the City may even become a semblance of what they were before urban sprawl, encroachments, and unchecked flow of sewerage overtook them. The authority has identified 608 small, medium sized, and large lakes within the Bangalore Development Authority limits, and nearly 2,000 other water bodies which come within the Bangalore Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (BMRDA) for reclamation.

Several factors led to the death and virtual disappearance of Bangalore's lakes, which served as a reservoir for rainwater, connected to storm water channels and regularly recharged groundwater resources. Greed for land by encroachers and the Government's own plans to use lakebeds for other purposes such as building Subashnagar Bus Station or creating Sampangiramanagar Layout were the root-cause for the disappearance of lakes. The good tidings are that the authority has taken up the work of restoring the Venkaiahnakere and Nagavara lakes on the city outskirts. The State Government has allocated Rs. 50 lakh in the budget for lake restoration and the Authority has received central assistance of Rs. 12.72 crore. Several corporates are known to have responded positively to requests for sponsoring lake restoration.

Following a comprehensive report on the status of Bangalore lakes, submitted by the former administrator, Lakshman Rau, the State Government handed over more than 100 lakes to the Forest Department, to be restored and maintained. The BMP, with some assistance from the Defence organisations, was able to reclaim and clean Ulsoor Lake and Sankey Tank. While part of Ulsoor Lake is used by the Army for its training purposes, Sankey Tank was originally created by a colonel of that name, serving with the Madras Sappers. The Indo-Norwegian Environment Programme resulted in the successful restoration of Hebbal Lake and two others in the vicinity. The authority has prepared a detailed GIS map of the City's lakes and a report on the existing lakes and those that had disappeared. Identifying lakes, which had been partly or entirely encroached upon by land sharks, is a difficult task facing the LDA.

A main component of the lake restoration work will involve diverting sewage flows (as distinct from rainwater) away from the lakes. This will be the only way to keep freshwater lakes alive and with them the fish, birds, and other creatures which maintain the ecologic balance and control mosquito breeding. An environmental assessment study taken up by the authority is expected to help in this regard. Already migratory water birds are flocking to Hebbal Lake and this could well happen to other lakes, once Bangalore's pride and joy, the authorities feel.