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| CONCLUSION |
Urbanisation and the consequent loss of lakes has led to decrease in catchment yield, water storage capacity, wetland area, number of migratory birds, flora and fauna diversity and ground water table. Temporal land use analysis reveal that there has been a 632% increase in built up area from 1973 to 2009 leading to a sharp decline of 79% area in water bodies in Bangalore mostly attributing to intense urbanisation process. The increase in urban built up area ranges from 342.83% (during 1973 to 1992), 129.56% (during 1992 to 1999), 106.7% (1999 to 2002), 114.51% (2002 to 2006) to 126.19% (2006 to 2010). Number of wetlands has declined from 207 (1973) to 93 (2010). The gradient analysis showed that Bangalore grew radially from 1973 to 2010 indicating that the urbanization is intensifying from the city centre and has reached the periphery of the Bangalore. The temperature profile analysis by overlaying the LST on the land use reveal of higher temperatures in urban area while vegetation and water bodies aided in moderating temperature at local levels (evident from at least 2 to 2.5 °C lower temperature compared to urban pockets).
Frequent flooding in the city is a consequence of the drastic increase in impervious area (of 632% in 4 decades) and loss of wetlands (and interconnectivity of wetlands) with the high-density urban developments. The uncoordinated pattern of urban growth is attributed to a lack of good governance and decentralized administration, which was evident from the lack of coordination among many Para-state agencies, which has led to unsustainable use of the land and other resources. The mitigation of frequent floods and the associated loss of human life and properties entail the restoration of interconnectivity among wetlands, restoration of wetlands (removal of encroachments), conservation, and sustainable management of wetlands
