TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ TUESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2003 01:47:35 AM ]
BANGALORE: The 80 "living" lakes across 5,000 hectares of Bangalore continues to remain shallow, despite Bangalore receiving more than average rainfall for monsoon so far. Restoration projects of several lakes which were taken up with the assurance that the lakes would be filled up during the monsoon this year, doesn't seem to hold water.
Data available at the Lake Development Authority states that barring three lakes -- Sankey, Madiwala and Vengayyanakere -- all lakes are totally empty or has scanty water. "It now seems that the city needs two good monsoons for all the 80 medium and large lakes to be filled up," CEO of Lake Development Authority A K Varma says. Bangalore has received a good 267.7 mm of rain, which is above average of 5 mm rain for the monsoon so far. Ninety per cent of the rainwater has been lost to the ground as runoffs and 5 per cent has been lost to vaporisation. Its only the remaining five per cent which is trapped in the catchment areas of rivers and tanks. The Lake Development Authority has collected data of water levels of 60 lakes so far. Sources attribute the low water level in these lakes to poor catchment areas. Catchment areas, which also collects water through storm water drains have been neglected or poorly treated across all lakes. Storm water drains which run along several kilometres before reaching catchment areas are blocked by filth and muck, thus preventing water from entering the lakes. "Fault is in our design. All the connecting drains are full of muck," they add.
