Articles by Arathi Manay Yajaman

On 8th January 2017, various events will be hosted at Kaikondrahalli Lake during its annual ‘Kere Habba’. The habba, which is in its third year, aims to be bigger, better and more impactful in raising awareness, increasing community participation and fostering an appreciation of lakes in Bengaluru. It is an ideal way for people, especially young children to connect to nature and learn. Sessions include a story walk by Vikram Sridhar, a performance storyteller, a bird walk and a spider walk. For the artistically inclined, there is a flower rangoli activity, photography workshop and a drawing workshop themed around nature by illustrator Archana Sreenivasan. Deepa Mohan, a columnist with Citizen Matters, will take a session on writing on nature that…

Jakkur Kere Utsav is being held on Sunday, 20th November 2016, to celebrate the beautiful Jakkur Lake. Satya Foundation had initiated a citizen group called Jalaposhan in 2014 and has jointly adopted the lake for conservation. In its endeavor to make it a community space many programmes are hosted at the lake. This kere utsav is a good mix of them all. There is fitness, cultural, educational, recreational and fun. It is a sunrise to sunset fest. Visitiors are sure to love it. Do visit with family and friends.  

Sarjapura village/town, located in the south of Bangalore Urban District, has about 26 lakes in a radius of 7 km. Said to cover about 505 hectares, the largest lake is 271 acres big. If one looks at google maps though, one would find it difficult to find any water patches. Indeed, the lakes are currently bereft of water, but residents of the area have learnt, from local old-timers, that these lakes were full just a decade ago.       Inspired by the efforts of Bangaloreans to save their lakes, residents of Sarjapura, under Sarjapura Residents Welfare Association (Sarajapura.RWA), they have taken…

On Saturday, 16-July-2016, Horamavu Parisara Abhivruddhi Samiti (HPAS) organised an intensive day-long lake cleaning and beautification event at the Horamavu Agara Kere. More than 100 people participated in the event. In addition to local residents, students from Mount Carmel College’s Eco Club enthusiastically joined in picking up litter strewn around the lake, segregating waste, removing weeds from the lake’s fence, levelling the ground where needed, planting tree saplings, and making the place aesthetically pleasing enough to dissuade people from littering and dirtying the place in future. This 50-acre lake in north-east Bengaluru has been a prime location for local residents to toss their…

Are you a young professional passionate about water security and poverty reduction? Would you like to be part of an ambitious programme to make five million poor people water secure by 2022? We are looking for 12 young professionals with no more than five years of professional experience to form a Junior Global Advisory Panel. Members can be from any region in the world and from varying professional backgrounds (academia, industry, government and practitioners). Suitable areas of expertise would be water resources, WASH, wastewater, health, agriculture, poverty, garment industries, refugees, or gender. The Junior Global Advisory Panel will complement the Global Advisory Panel which consists of globally-recognised…

"Garbage, sewage and construction debris are eating up Bengaluru's Chunchaghatta lake situated in the Konankunte ward, adjacent to Eshwar Layout in southern JP Nagar." This is what an article on Citizen Matters said, more than five years ago. The article can be read here. (Chunchaghatta = Chunchughatta)  Now residents from the area have taken it upon themselves to clean up the lake. Do join the Friends of Lake - Chunchughatta Kere on Sunday, 12th June 2016, 7 a.m. to help clean the lake. Assemble at the flagpost, Gaurav Nagar, behind Brigade Gardenia. More details are in the poster below.  

Team VIKAS is organising Run4Lake - to create awareness about Vibhutipura Lake. The location of the lake can be seen on googlemaps here. Runners will need to complete two laps around the lake, starting at Utkarsh Park, LBS Nagar. Registrations are now open:Below 16 yrs - Rs.200/- Adults (above 16 years) - Rs.300/- The registration amount includes a CAP for Below 16 yrs category and a T-Shirt for Adults To register and for more details, pls contact 9164573210 / 9663521774 / 9880318511 / 9844218201 / 9449825502. Register before 12-Jun-2016.  

Over 1000 people participated in various activities at the World Environment Day celebrations organised by YUVA, and held around Allalasandra Lake area this morning.   Tree planting in Allalasandra lake area was done by Bengaluru MLC Mr.Narayanaswamy, BBMP Yelahanka zone Joint Commissioner Mr.Sarfaraz Khan, Ward 4 Corporator Mr.Satish, YUVA members, local citizens, students of Sheshadripuram College, Poorna Prajna School, MES and Govt PU college.   Students from Sheshadripuram College took out an awarness rally in Yelahanka New Town, on the plastic ban, waste segregation and water conservation. Saplings were distributed. Bhoomi Thayi Balaga entertained the public with songs about the environment and lakes.…

The Karnataka Lake ​Conservation and Development Authority (KLCDA) is on the look out for lake wardens, to work on a voluntary basis. The government order and other relevant information can be seen here.   The Karnataka Lake ​Conservation and Development Authority Act 2014 was constituted (vide Gazette Notification No.Samvyashae 07 Shasana 2012, Bangalore dated 07-Mar-2015) for Lake Conservation and Development. The Act finally came into force in March 2016, with the following mission:- To establish a strong system of well linked lakes and tanks free from organic and chemical pollutants, and- To intensify official concern and motivate community vigilance to the extent where pollution…

To all our friends, Puttenahalli Lake, May 2016 ​ For many of us, every day is Environment Day. Still, it feels good to see the whole world pause on 5th June every year and focus on raising awareness about environmental issues and concerns. From the World Environment Day website "This year's theme for WED – Go Wild for Life – encourages you to celebrate all those species under threat and take action of your own to help safeguard them for future generations. This can be about animals or plants that are threatened within your local area as well as at the…