puttenahalli lake

On Saturday 21st Jun 2014, a group of fourteen young employees from WPA World Class Services (India), Koramangala spent a couple of hours out in the sun at Puttenahalli Lake, away from the air-conditioned rooms of their office. Many had come from the east of Bangalore, volunteering their time, to help with the upkeep of the lake area.    After a brief introduction by PNLIT trustee Nupur Jain, they set to work to clean up the long stretch along the Nataraja Layout - Coconut Grove side, guided by our neighbourhood volunteer Rekha George. They were an enthusiastic group with everyone looking for the…

Four years ago on this day, four people were waiting at the sub-registrar's office in JP Nagar to get a trust deed registered. Along with them, two others, who were to sign as witnesses. They were well prepared, having drafted the document themselves, getting it reviewed by the sub-registrar office clerks a couple of days earlier, carefully printing it, with all the papers that they had been told to bring. However, given the reputation that the sub-registrar offices have, it would be wrong to say that they were not worried about being put in an uncomfortable spot at some stage.…

The recent heavy rains in Bangalore have resulted in quite a bit of water finding its way into Puttenahalli Lake, quenching the thirst of the cracking lake bed. Something like a full bottle's water getting poured into one's throat, after a long harsh summer outing. As a part of the summer regimen, workmen have been deweeding, and a lot of the water weeds have been taken out. The green around is looking lush.    For those who do not live in the Puttenahalli Lake vicinity, here are some recent pictures. Deweeding in progress, 6th Jun 2014  Puttenahalli Lake after deweeding, 9th…

On June 8, 2014, the Chennai Trekking Club (CTC) in association with The Hindu newspaper organized the 5th year edition of the Chennai Coastal Cleanup and the 1st edition of India Clean Sweep - a major awareness campaign on environmental conservation. The location chosen was Yelahanka's Puttenahalli Lake in north Bangalore. More details on the planning of the event here. The main objective of this initiative was to create more awareness among the general public against the use of plastics and reduction of our garbage footprint through segregation, re-cyling and reuse and keep our lakes clean too. The cleanup was inaugurated…

To celebrate Earth Day (that is observed all over the world on 22nd April), PNLIT is happy to host an event called Dance at Dusk in association with the Snehadhara Foundation. The programme is being held on a Saturday to enable adults to participate along with their children.  Date: 26th April 2014 (Saturday) Time: 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Place: Puttenahalli Lake, at the gazebo     What is Dance at Dusk? Here's a brief note on the event from Snehadhara: Dance at Dusk We at Snehadhara believe that movements have inner meanings and purposes along with their outer expressive…

True to his promise, the Upa Lokayukta Justice SB Majage visited Yelahanka’s Allalasandra Lake and Puttenahalli Lake on 30th March 2014. As reported earlier, a follow-up of his February inspection was due in the first week of April, but he made it before time. Local groups have been earnestly following up with LDA / Forest Department and BWSSB to resolve the problems faced by the two lakes:  - water quality degradation due to continuous inflow of sewage, through storm water drains, broken sewage chambers and a dysfunctional STP- foul smell- mosquito nuisance- contamination of water in neighbourhood wells and borewells. While…

Over the last few days, the Bangalore edition of The Hindu newspaper has carried two articles on lakes, both involving our Puttenahalli Lake, JP Nagar.   On 26th March, an article titled "Lakes turn into sewage pools" was published. In summary, it reports a complaint made by a citizen regarding the state of the lakes in Bangalore (including sewage and encroachment) despite more than Rs 200 crore of State money having being spent on them over the last six years, which has drawn the attention of the Upa Lokayukta. Many of us know that some of the rejuvenated lakes do…

Today, March 20, is World Sparrow Day. During my childhood in Bangalore in the 1970s-80s, sparrows were a part of our everyday life, much the way rock pigeons just merge with the high-rise landscape today.  Scores of sparrows would be all over the backyard, chirping on the pomegranate and guava trees. Unafraid of humans, the sparrows hopped around on the ground whenever mom cleaned the rice, in expectation of falling grains. (Yes, the rice used to have stones that needed to be removed, and chaff that would blow away in the wind as the rice was tossed up and down on…

The winter sun was out, and so were the 56 kids who came along with their little siblings and parents. They all came to Puttenahalli Lake on this pleasant Saturday morning to listen to Gitanjali Sarangan (Geetu) and her team - Anagha, Sasha, Damroo, Akshat, Arun and Manasa (from Snehadhara Foundation) spin a yarn based on a story "Who Owns the Water?" by Deepa Balsavar.  ["Who Owns the Water? is one of the stories in the book Water Stories from Around the World, published by Tulika.]   Raj (from Music for Soul) came with his guitar and got everyone in the mood to…

A story about water, 18th Jan 2013, 10:30 am, at Puttenahalli Lake.   Once upon a time, near large apartment communities, an Ashy Prinia searched for a place to lay her eggs. The land was parched and dry and there wasn't a bush or tree in sight. Finally she found a depression in the ground and using her tiny claws she made a hole and laid her eggs. The eggs hatched and the Ashy Prinia took care of the babies until they were big enough to fly.   "Is that it?" you will enquire. To which we will reply, "No it isn't,…