Lakes

"Nearly 110 species of birds, fully or partially dependent on water have been recorded utilizing the tanks in Bangalore. This diversity of birds belongs to 6 avian orders and 25 bird families." - Dr S. Subramanya, an authority on lakes At Puttenahalli Lake, JP Nagar we have positively identified 15 species of the 110 (with the help of close-up photographs; otherwise most of the birds were always too far off or reclusive). These include those that belong to the families of coots, cormorants, ducks, herons, jacanas, kingfishers, kites, lapwigs, wagtails. There are some that we are yet to photograph/identify and…

With the installation of benches (and dustbins) at our neighbourhood Puttenahalli Lake, the number of people frequenting it has gone up considerably! Most of them are from Puttenahalli, RBI Layout, Bank of Baroda Colony, etc. This is an invitation to all residents of South City and Brigade Millennium to a guided tour of the lake on Saturday and Sunday (27th-28th Aug 2011) from 9 a.m to 10 a.m. We will show you the different varieties of trees we have planted, the water birds and the many seemingly small but integral things that we do to revive and transform the lake.…

We plan to bring out a booklet for children on the rich flora and fauna of Puttenahalli Lake. This is an invitation to all resident shutterbugs to take photographs of the trees and birds at the lake for possible inclusion in the book. We'll be happy to give due credit to the selected photographs. We will need high resolution pictures. Also, need an aerial view of the lake for the cover. Please send pics by 12th September to puttenahalli.lake@gmail.com. ⊕

Update from Priya Ramasubban, one of our active residents, working on improving Kaikondrahalli Lake. As most of you who frequent the lake would have noticed, we now have security guards in place and lots of deweeding and maintanence work going on.  Phase II of BBMP’s work – i.e. leveling the pathways, creating a separate cycling path, putting up the new fence and gates; creating play spaces and exercise spaces; etc. – has started last week and we are hoping the contractors will finish the work by the end of the year. The lake post-rejuvenation shows vast expanse of water. Pic: Sohel…

Here's an invitation to you to join us with your children at Puttenahalli Lake Near MLR Convention Hall, Brigade Millennium from 9 am to 11 am tomorrow and on Sunday for gardening. Mix a little bit of work with lots of fun watching birds (the latest visitor is a white breasted kingfisher), spotting fishes (there are at least three varieties in the lake). Open your eyes and your child's to the treasures of nature! Hoping to see you tomorrow at the lake! Don't forget to bring a cap, water bottle, some gardening tool if you have any and gloves if…

At any time of the day, you will see more people than birds at our Puttenahalli Lake. There are the brisk morning or evening walkers, strollers, people who use the track as a short cut to go from or to Puttenahalli, the time pass guys who sit singly or in a group at the gazebo, two wheelers, though their number is reducing gradually. Well, we are constantly standing in their path and sending them back. That’s what I did today with a motorbike rider and a cyclist - much to the startled horror of three students from Kumaran School who…

Rejuvenation of three lakes - Ambalipura, Kaikondanahalli and Puttenahalli lakes in south-east and south Bengaluru stand out as examples of successful projects undertaken by the BBMP. A common denominator in all three rejuvenation is the initiative taken by citizens living nearby to save them from extinction. Three concerned citizens started off the process - K Rajesh Rao, Priya Ramasubban and Usha Rajagopalan. Weeding in progress at Ambalipura lake. Pic: Yogaraj S Mudalgi Rao, a resident of Trinity Woods on Sarjapur Road and an IT professional, got the attention of BBMP towards the pathetic condition of the 7.4 acre Ambalipura lake.…

Once upon a time, not so long ago, our city with its salubrious climate, smooth roads and countless trees made it a pensioners’ paradise. Indeed, Bengaluru had at least two other names as well – The Garden City and the City of Lakes. All this changed within the last three decades or so. The tree cover has been blown and the lakes are vanishing. If in the 1830s there were an incredible 19,800 lakes and tanks, by the 1960s the number dwindled to 280 and reduced further by 1990 to less than 80. They vanished as quickly as the population…

As a creative writer I am constantly discovering new things about places, people and myself. Since the last four years though I have been privileged to tackle perhaps my greatest discovery - the Puttenahalli Lake in J.P. Nagar, 7th Phase. What began as a wish to prevent misuse of the lake gathered momentum and led to the formation of the Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust (PNLIT) in June 2010. Eleven months later, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the BBMP to formally maintain the lake, the first citizens’ group to do so. Every time we visit the lake, my…

Ten apartments in Bellandur area have recently received show cause notices from the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) for flouting STP (Sewage Treatment Plant) norms. The apartments, all of which were built by Sobha developers, are Sobha Carnation, Mayflower, Daisy, Jasmine, Dahlia, Lavender, Quartz, Aquamarine, Hibiscus and Primrose. They received notices in April. Pollution Control Board authorities say that there is no specific drive to check on apartment STPs, but that surprise checks would continue. "Regional Officers (ROs) inspect apartments periodically and also if they receive complaints from the public. In this case, we came to know about these…