Lakes

The heavy rains on 31st May - 1st June helped raise the water level in several parts of Puttenahalli Lake by upto about 16 inches. With this about 65-75% of the lake bed is under water. We're waiting for a few more similar downpours to bring the level higher.  The Lake, 1st June 2013 (Pic: Usha Rajagopalan)The rains also cooled the place making the gardening weekend thoroughly enjoyable for all the volunteers. Over the two mornings, starting at 7 a.m., about 50 people coming from various parts of the city, helped in digging pits, planting shrubs, cleaning (plastics and other litter)…

Several of the visitors to the lake, have marveled at how the level has gone up in just two or three days of pre-monsoon showers. The reason of course is that the rain has been heavy this year and more because, for the first time, some of the surface run off from the Brigade Millennium road is getting diverted into the lake through the new conduit. The story doesn't end here.Visitors would have seen the enormous iron frame that was getting assembled on the ground between the security cabin and the gazebo. Thick iron rods have been placed over the…

In Part I of this series, Citizen Matters blew the lid off the IISc report that revealed the encroachment of a major Rajakaluve by the SEZ project by Manipal ETA Infotech Pvt Ltd. This part will explain the random changes made by the BDA in the status of the project land, resulting in a change of status, from being a ‘valley zone' to an industrial area. The site has seen some rapid changes in the last decade. In ‘95, BDA had classified this land as largely residential and park area. In 2005, BDA started revising its master plan. In the…

BBMP has taken up the rejuvenation of upstream lakes in the chain of seven lakes, of which Kaikondrahalli Lake is located just before Soulkere. A few months ago, the contractors had started to dewater the upstream lakes, which meant the sewage water present in these lakes had to be pumped out. Unfortunately diversion pipes were not in place at Kaikondarahalli lake so this polluted water was getting into our rejuvenated lake. So dewatering work was suspended to build the channels, and later the election code of conduct delayed the work further. With dewatering work restarted, we suddenly found that the…

It is said that Bangalore had more than 250 lakes and tanks. With the rapid expansion of the city, lakes have been disappearing at an alarming rate. However the story of Kaikondrahalli Kere is quite different. In the year 2009, Kaikondrahalli Kere situated on Sarjapur Road was practically dry and reduced to a swamp with some birdlife and a reasonable biodiversity. If it had been left as it was, it was just a matter of time before the lake died and all the bird life would have disappeared. In order to save the lake, a rejuvenation project was taken up…

Based on a total station survey done by Enzen Global in Aug. 2011, PNLIT got the BBMP to install a  new diversion channel (DC) to harvest surface run off from the Brigade Millennium road into the lake. After some unavoidable delays, complicated government procedures, worker issues, etc. the major DC was finally completed a month ago.The intermittent drizzle over the past couple of weeks indicated that the DC could work but we were not sure just how well it would till the downpour last night. Glimpses of the lake lit by lightning last night were exciting, raising our hope that…

Fencing complete! The fencing work at Kaikondarahalli lake has been completed, under tight security. We wish to thank everyone at the BBMP who made this possible -- BBMP Commissioner Siddaiah, Chief Conservator of Forest Brijesh Kumar, Chief Engineer Lakes B V Satish, Forest Department Official Jagannath Rao and BBMP Environment Engineer Shilpa. A special thank you to the contractor on the ground, Madesh, who was enormously efficient in completing the work. Fencing finally finished under tight security. The fence ensures that the lake land won't get encroached illegally and the safety and the security at the lake has increased manifold.…

People who participate in community gardening have a significantly lower body mass index (BMI), as well as lower odds of being overweight, than their non-gardening neighbours and siblings. This is according to a study by Dr Cathleen Zick (Professor of Family and Consumer Studies) and her colleagues from the University of Utah, USA, published on April 18, 2013 in the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH). The study concluded that "Community gardens may be a valuable element of land use diversity that merits consideration by public health officials who want to identify neighborhood features that promote health." More details of…

I guess the heat was too much and not many volunteers turned up this weekend. Those who did brave the sun did a wonderful job though. Yesterday, 6th April, some eight of us were scattered on the lake bed, bent over or squatting on the ground. We were searching for lurking bits of the Salvinia between the cracks and under stones since even a teeny bit is enough for it to sprout and cover the water in no time.  Fresh Salvinia spotted earlier in the week (Pic: Nupur Jain) Searching for Salvinia (Pic: Usha Rajagopalan) It was back breaking work…

In this season of colours, our lake bed may seem drab, devoid of water but for us at PNLIT, it is a sign of hope. The brown piles of drying Salvinia is the final leg of a battle we've been fighting since Aug. last year to remove the invasive fern Salvinia Molesta and to infuse new life into the lake. The way the BBMP's JCB and the men are working, we are hopeful that the last of the Salvinia will be removed by the end of the week. THEN we can welcome the rain to fill up the lake.In spite…