Ulsoor lake at rain god's mercy

BANSY KALAPPA

BANGALORE: If Ulsoor lake, now a barren bed, to sparkle with clear water again, where will it come from? While the BCC is banking on the monsoon, sceptics ask if there will be a normal monsoon this year.

The BCC has a 'waterproof' plan: rainwater will pour in, of which Ulsoor lake will collect 1,100 million litres this season. Said BCC Commissioner R. Sreenivasa Murthy: “Water will flow in through storm water drains (SWDs) which will be desilted. Hydrological studies reveal that the catchment area receives an average of 900 mm of rainfall, of which a fifth is enough to fill up Ulsoor lake.

But Justice M F Saldanha of the Karnataka HC feels it will be years before the lake fills up. There are ways clean up a lake without draining it. An opinion echoed by scores of residents who argue that the BCC is being unrealistic.

Draining was a blunder, considering that it lacked a natural perennial waterway to fill it up. Sceptical residents fear that the lake will never really be clean, because surrounding SWDs are used by slum-dwellers for defecation, messing up the lake again.

Several SWDs in the 11 sqkm catchment area of J C Nagar, Chinappa Garden, Nandidurga Road, Benson Town, Richards Town, Fraser Town, Cox Town, Wheeler Road, Byappanhalli, Marutisevanagar, Jeevanhalli and adjoining areas are clogged and lack continuous water flow, they say.

Commissioner Murthy says all SWDs will be desilted, and seven silt and garbage traps placed to block out rubbish. Water will be collected in a section of the lake and decanted. But the lake still faces dumping of automobile and construction debris and household garbage.

To which Murthy said security guards would be deployed to monitor the lake parapet. A separate enclosure would be provided for immersion of Ganesha idols and desilted every few years. BWSSB Chairman M N Vidyashankar said sewage flow into the would be completely stopped within 90 days to connect slums to sewage lines. Work is under way at a cost of Rs 3 crore.

It has a capacity to hold 0.25 million cubic metres of water, and inflow from catchment areas would be sufficient for refilling, he added.