Citizen trust to maintain Puttenahalli Lake

by May 17, 2011 Environment

Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust becomes the first residents group in Bengaluru to take charge of maintaining a lake.

Official note sent by the Puttenahalli Lake Trust to members and citizen volunteers.

The lake then, as on Jan 2009. Pic courtesy: PNLIT

We are happy to tell you that our Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust (PNLIT) has signed an MOU yesterday with the BBMP to maintain Puttenahalli Lake, JP Nagar. This gives official status to what most of you would know PNLIT has been doing ever since the BBMP began rejuvenating the lake from Feb. 2010. 

Your donations helped us plant 300 trees, hire a gardener and a sweeper. We greatly appreciate your support to a citizens’ movement which began in a very small way to save the lake over three years ago (see photographs attached) to now reach this point of formal recognition of our effort. 

You may also be interested to know that ours is the only lake in Bangalore to be managed by a residents’ group.

Ours being a people’s initiative, the challenge is even more formidable but not impossible. It only requires a little participation from you as residents in the locality to do your bit – go for walks around the lake. If you see someone throwing down rubbish or breaking off a sapling, stop them. If you are a regular walker, join us as a volunteer to supervise the sweeper, gardener and security guards.

The lake now, as on May 2011. Pic courtesy: PNLIT

Individual contributions and corporate donations to PNLIT will go towards cleaning the lake and its surroundings, planting more saplings, maintaining the garden around, securing the lake, feeding inlets to drain water into the lake, upkeep of the toilets, providing drinking water and lots of other things… as we go along. We have received the status of Charitable Trust from the IT Dept and expect to get 80G exemption very soon.

At present, ours is a seven member team with individual personal and professional commitments and need all the help we can get from you to fully transform the once shrinking threatened lake, the only one in our locality, into a haven for birds, butterflies and fish. We have already come a long way, the rest of the journey will not be difficult with your help. ⊕

Sections:

About Usha Rajagopalan

The author is a trustee of PNLIT.
Read more by Usha Rajagopalan

Comments:

  1. Usha Srinath says:
    May 19, 2011 at 1:08 pm

    Way to go, PNLIT. very impressive. You know these kind of partnerships (BBMP with residents groups) is pretty rare. How do we get in touch with you?

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Similar Story

Pallikaranai Marsh’s Zone of Influence: Threat or shield for South Chennai?

by October 29, 2026 Environment
Pallikaranai Marsh acts as a buffer against Chennai floods. Protecting homes and ecology around it needs a proper ZoI, not weak rules.

Every monsoon, South Chennai goes underwater. The only sponge that soaks up all that rain is the Pallikaranai Marsh, yet around it, 8,619 hectares of land face severe flood risks. Despite this, the State has offered to protect only a fraction of that land.  On October 9th, the Tamil Nadu State Wetlands Authority (TNSWA) told the Madras High Court  that the marsh's interim Zone of Influence (ZoI) is just 36 survey numbers, covering 128.19 hectares. The next hearing of the case is on November 11th.  Scattered "protection"  These plots lie in bits and pieces across seven villages, from Pallikaranai to Perumbakkam.…

Continue reading

Similar Story

Blocked Kovalam-Nemmeli wetland channels risk disaster for South Chennai; Conservationists urge action  

by October 21, 2026 Environment
Barriers built for the Mamallan Reservoir block Buckingham Canal water flow, vital to keep the wetland alive, avoid floods and sustain fishing families.

In Chengalpattu district, the main water channels of the Kovalam-Nemmeli coastal wetland, which drains a catchment of more than 270 square kilometres, have currently been blocked. Barriers that obstruct water flow have been built across Chennai's Buckingham Canal at three places: Thiruvidanthai-Vadanemmeli, near the Nemmeli-Thiruporur bridge, and Saluvankuppam. Earlier, we explored how the Mamallan Reservoir causes serious damage to the wetland’s ecology and how fishing livelihoods are affected. Field investigations by the Wetland Conservation Network have recorded the blockages preventing tidal exchange in the Buckingham Canal.           According to officials, these barriers were put up to enable construction of the Mamallan…

Continue reading