Lakes

A couple of weeks ago, towards the end of October 2015, many concerned residents started observing raw sewage entering Ibbluru park at Sarjapura Road - ORR Ibbluru junction. It was not clear what was driving this. There had been unseasonal rains prior to this too, but it had not led to any adverse effects on the park. What triggered this destructive course of events? To understand it better, it is necessary to understand the chain of events that took place in the last five years. Local residents fondly recollect, seeing a beautiful quiet lake at Ibbluru up until 2009 -…

Last Tuesday, on 27th October, when our gardeners came to work at 9 a.m., they saw four of the Cuddappa stone seats in the Gazebo smashed, 15 out of the 20 heavy Sadarahalli granite seat of benches along the walking track were upturned and one broken into two. See the pix. We are used to vandals breaking the glass windows of the cabin, ripping apart our signages, pulling down branches of trees, even uprooting them but this incident takes it to another level altogether. Who did this in the dark of the night? Evil minds or empty minds?                We informed BBMP…

Pic: Sanchayan Nath Bellandur lake—Bengaluru’s largest lake, hits headlines often for all wrong reasons. The once bountiful lake has gradually transformed into a sewage tank. Formation of foam is a cause for concern among the citizens living around. The authorities claim to be doing their best to solve the problem. Fed up with the lethargic attitude of the authorities in solving issue, residents and activists have recently decided to launch a massive campaign to fix the problem once and for all. They say that if this is not sorted out now, it is going to be impossible to continue living…

On 8th October 2015, a group of 34 volunteers from Cisco livened up Puttenahalli Lake with their good humored banter, comments and most of all, with their swift and efficient planting of saplings to form a protective hedge along the side of the walking track. This was done to prevent stray dogs from going down the embankment and chasing the birds away. By planting the saplings the Cisco volunteers saved a great deal of labour for us and our gardeners. By sending us the report below, they saved us the trouble of writing one as well! Sincere thanks to Cisco's Jagadeesh Maiya and Sudarshan Ganapathi, who…

We are wary of festivals because of the toll they take on water bodies in general and our lake in particular. Navaratri, however, became special for us since 2013 when a South City resident Raji decided to make our Puttenahalli Lake part of her "Golu." Invited for haldi kumkum, we walked in and stopped short. What? Our Lake in the Golu? The lake made of chart paper and little figures was almost an exact replica of Puttenahalli Lake. Raji and her son Aditya had anticipated it full of water and their model had an expanse of blue when in reality…

Another evening, another Ganesha procession passing by to get to the Mallathahalli tank. It has been more than a month since the Ganesha festival, but the sounds of passing processions—typically a tractor with a massive Ganesha, surrounded by hooting teenage boys, drums in front and more boys (younger and teens) dancing around it—is still not unusual. One of the perks of living close to a lake, I guess. If there are still idols being dumped in the lake, wonder what the situation would have been over the month. The area for dumping is a small pond cut out from the…

Horamavu Parisara Abhivruddhi Samiti (HPAS), formerly called Save Horamavu Lakes, is joining hands with Janaagraha and BBMP to clean Horamavu! The Cleaning drive will be rolled out in several locations. VOLUNTEERS are needed this Saturday, 24th Oct at 8 a.m. in front of Homebuzz. Please register by clicking here, and filling out the form. Please join this effort in large numbers. For more information check the Facebook page here or email save-horamavu-lakes@googlegroups.com. 

Sushant Potdar, an intern with BIOME Trust did a study on the Open Wells in the Yamalur Watershed. The complete report can be seen below and is also available here. The study seems very relevant, especially at a time when borewells deeper than 1000 feet fail and there is no access to water supplied by the BWSSB in this area. Sushant documents 21 wells that have still not been closed. There are many more in the area that are worth documenting and retaining. All wells are privately owned and hence the maintenance of the well becomes a challenge. What is…

Counsels of Mantri Developers have tendered an unconditional apology in the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Tuesday, October 6th, 2015, with regard to the contempt case filed against them. Namma Bengaluru Foundation and Forward Foundation had filed the contempt case in the NGT after an expert committee member was reportedly stopped from entering Mantri Developers site at Agara in Bengaluru for inspection and his GPS device was snatched. According to the order posted on the NGT website, legal Advisor of Mantri Developers Bhubnendra tendered an unconditional apology. Mantri Developers Managing Director Sushil Mantri who was present in the court, along…

Bellandur Lake has been frothing again, and in a big way. Read a report here. This time, several people are trying to find a long term solution. An online petition has got more that 15,000 signatures. You can lend your support too, on Change.org here.   The former Panchayath leader of Bellandur, Mr. Jagannath, has called for a citizen's meeting to discuss concrete steps to save the lake. He has seen the lake when it was thriving and will tell everyone about the history of the lake, the problems, the fight in court some years ago, and the resulting Lok…