the TALE OF TWO LAKES

Kempe Gowda, the founder of Bangalore and his successors built more than 100 tanks and lakes in the city which are now fading out due to rapid urbanization and discharge of effluents in the water bodies.

The tanks were built in a way that the higher level tanks on overflowing supplied water to the lower lever tanks. All the tanks were rain fed. While the large tanks were perennial, the small and medium ones were seasonal. These tanks, now mostly referred to as lakes were used by local communities for drinking, irrigation and other daily purposes. The lakes also catered to a range of flora and fauna, helped to recharge the surrounding groundwater, prevented flooding and maintained the ecological balance of the city.

However, today most of these lakes are highly polluted and unsuitable for everyday use with serious health hazards and some of them no longer exist. A 2017 study, “Wetlands: Treasures of Bangalore (Abused, Polluted, Encroached and Vanishing” headed by Professor TV Ramachandra of IISc shows the current scenario of Bangalore’s lakes. 105 lakes were surveyed as part of the study out of which only 4 were in a good condition. According to the study, 90% of the lakes are polluted due to the discharge of untreated sewage water into the lakes. Of these, 25% were covered by water hyacinth throughout the year, which is an indicator of the sewage flow. The lakes are mostly covered with solid and liquid waste with very little water.

The study also found that water in all the lakes except Mylasandra Lake was unfit for consumption. Almost 98% of the lakes are encroached leaving the area of lakes ranging from 2 to 50 hectares. The rest of the article compares two such lakes – Sarakki Lake and Arekere Lake using infographics and statistics from various reports and sources

government authorities in-charge

The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) took over the role of custodian for Arekere Lake in 2014. It began working on the rejuvenation of the lake in early 2015 along with 16 other lakes. BDA sought to undertake activities like de-silting, weeding, fencing and infrastructural development in the lake vicinity. However it has been 5 years and not much progress can be seen. The lake has become a victim of massive eutrophication and is one the most polluted water bodies in Bangalore.

Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) had been given the charge of redirecting sewage from the lake to make way for developmental work. This move came after Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) inspected the lakes and found that untreated sewage was being discharged into the lakes.

Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) the municipal body governing civic issues was involved in tackling illegal encroachers like slum dwellers. However, they too lacked in their efforts and the work has ceased ever since. BBMP has also undertaken rejuvenation of other lakes which involves fencing, removal of encroachments, setting up of sewage treatment plants (STPs), afforestation etc.

ngos associated with arekere lake

Arekere Neighborhood Improvement Trust (ANIT) is one of the main organizations working for the revival of the lake. The Trust was formed in 2012 after several concerned residents came together inspired by the success story of Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust (PNLIT). The trust initiated the revival work and visited government offices regularly for over a year and pressurized BDA into taking action.

The main aim of the group was to create awareness amongst the residents and start the work for revival of the lake. For the same, they have conducted a few awareness events over the years. One of the first events conducted by them was the formation of a human chain along the boundary of the lake. Around 60 people from the neighboring areas along with students from Holy Spirit School, Bannerghatta Main Road came together to spread awareness about the deteriorating condition of the lake. The NGO also conducted awareness seminars in the neighboring schools, namely AECS Magnolia Maaruti Public School Arekere and BGS National Public School.

Namma Bengaluru Foundation in association with BGS National Public School and ANIT organized a cultural festival, Kere Habba with the aim to bring people together for conservation, awareness, education, entertainment, environmental concern and community participation for the revival of Arekere Lake. The objective was to encourage people to connect with their surroundings, explore and participate in preserving their lake and become a stakeholder in keeping it alive. Tejaswini Ananth Kumar, president of Adamya Chetana, a voluntary organization working in the field of social development in Bangalore was the chief guest for the event. On seeing the condition of the lake and the efforts being put in by the students and other not for profit organizations, Tejaswini decided to support the movement making the event a huge success.

In 2017, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore (IISc) in collaboration with students and teachers of BGS National Public School published a report titled, “Status of Arekere Wetlands”. They tested the lake water every month over a period of time and came up with a report about Arekere Lake that included stats about water quality, encroachment, pollution levels, etc.

progress report

After neglecting the lake for years, the revival was finally initiated by the BDA in 2013 after over a year of persuading by ANIT. The plan was to revive the lake by February 2015 and a budget of Rs 12 crores was allocated for the same. Firstly, the boundary of the lake was fenced and sign boards cautioning against the dumping of garbage were put up. Major cleaning drives were conducted and most parts of the lake were free of weed. The next step was to redirect the untreated sewerage water that was flowing into the lake from six different drains.

For the same, underground pipeline was to be laid around the lake by Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB). However, they failed to comply and the BDA’s inability to pay the contractors on time led to the work being stopped half way.

By this time, a lot of work had been done in the period of two years and the water in the lake was cleaner. Ms. Veena Hegde, one of the founding members of ANIT says, “That year during monsoons, the lake had fresh water and a lot of birds were seen in the lake after years. But since the work stopped, the lake started coming back to its older form.”

In 2017 after the success of Kere Habba, Tejaswini Ananth Kumar who is also the wife of former Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Ananth Kumar joined forces with ANIT. This led to conduction of weekly meetings to discuss the status of the revival work. Her political ties helped in pressurizing BDA, BWSSB and Pollution Control Board to get back to work. In no time, the condition of the lake improved as four out of the six sewerage drains that opened into the lake were diverted by a temporary underground pipeline system. The dues of the contractors were also cleared by the BDA. However, the main drain which opens near the Hulimavu Arch was still not diverted.

flora & fauna

Arekere Lake is surrounded by naturally growing trees on one side with grass, shrubs and weeds growing on the other. Untreated sewage entry and solid waste dumping has affected the water quality drastically. Due to its high ionic and organic content and richness in nutrients, there is excessive of growth of algae and macrophyte cover on the surface of the water which has affected aquatic life. Algae like Chlorella, Chlorococcum and Navicula and macrophytes such as Eichhornia crasipes and Lemna gibba have managed to destroy the lake ecosystem (Ramachandra TV et al, 2015)

However, several bird species are often spotted at the lake. According to a study conducted by Vrijulal MV, currently associated with the Centre for Environmental Education (CEE), there are a total of 34 bird species.

media attention

Over the years, local editions of multiple newspapers as well as online news websites have covered stories about Arekere Lake. Stories range from the deteriorating condition of the lake to initiatives taken up by the residents as well as students from neighboring schools to rejuvenate the lake. Almost all articles discuss about BDA falling short on its promises but it does not seem to have affected the authorities.

Sarakki Lake is one of the largest lakes in Bangalore covering an area across 84 acres. It is also known as Jaraganahalli lake. Sarakki Lake is located on the Puttenahalli road in the Koramangala- Challaghatta valley. The word Sarakki is derived from the Kannada language words Saavira Hakki which translates to “A Thousand Birds”.

The Sarakki lake is also considered not only one of the largest but oldest lakes in Bangalore. The lake formerly had a surface area of 84 acres (34 ha) but is now shrunk to 60 acres due to illegal encroachments.

The lake has undergone tremendous changes other than its size in the last 10-15 years. As the name suggests, Sarakki Lake was once home to thousands of birds with a thriving ecosystem of rich flora and fauna. In the bygone years, the lake has witnessed an enormous decline it its biodiversity. The lake was once a source providing four villages with water. In the past decade, it has turned into a mere cesspit full of untreated sewage with litter strewn caused by dumping of debris from the neighbourhood surrounding the lake. This led to the extinction of all forms of aqua, avian, flora and fauna from the lake. The entire lake was filled with weed and algae killing all marine life. The sewage disposal into the lake was 20 million litres per day till last year. The lake is filled with about 3 lakh cubic metres of sludge and debris.

area and encroachment

government authorities in-charge

The lake was under the supervision of the Karnataka Forest Department before any revival work was initiated. In 2006, due to the high concentration of sewage in the lake water and increase of encroachers around its periphery, the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) initiated the work of fencing and desilting the lake. In the same year, BWSSB also got involved for the construction of an underground drainage system. However, the drainage system turned out to be largely defective and the lake went back to how it was before the construction.

After BDA, the supervision of the lake was turned to Lake Development Authority (LDA). Despite the deploring condition of the lake, no sufficient actions were taken by the LDA during its period of supervision.

In January 2012, the revival work of the lake was completely handed over to the BDA and since then, it is in charge of its operations along with BBMP. In the same year, a PIL was filed by SLAIT demanding survey on encroachments around the lake. Based on the survey conducted in 2013, the encroachment drives around the lake were initiated in 2015 for construction, revival and anti-encroachment works. Ever since, the operations on the lake are being handled by SLAIT, BBMP and BWSSB.

The Sarakki lake’s deteriorating state led the state government authorities to carry out a few restoration processes, most of which failed to be effective for the cause. The year 2006 witnessed the first initiative to restore the lake from encroachments taken by the Karnataka Forest Department which directed Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) to carry out fencing and desilting the lake. The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewage Board (BWSSB) were assigned with the task to construct an underground drainage system which turned out ineffective. The fencing soon became non-existent and the drainage system collapsed with the sewage dumping increasing over the years. Five years later in 2012, a group of distinguished citizens took matters on their own because of concerns over the situation of the lake and formed the Sarakki Lake Area Improvement Trust (SLAIT). It is an apolitical NGO working towards the cause of rejuvenating the lake, making it into a recreational site and bring its avian life back, thus living up to its name. The citizens demanded a survey of the entire lake which was carried out by the Director of Land Records. SLAIT joined the legal fight against the destruction of the lake along with People’s Campaign For Right To Water (PCRW). PCRW is an ngo working towards the cause of reviving water bodies in Bangalore. In the year 2013, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed by PCRW. The PIL was based on the survey that found about 20 acres of land around the lank embankment was encroached.

Based on the survey conducted in 2013, the encroachment drives around the lake were initiated in 2015 for construction, revival and anti-encroachment works. This led to communications between the NGOs and government departments such as BBMP and BWSSB in order for them to work together in coordination to rejuvenate the lake. Following the PIL most of the illegal encroachments were cleared along with fencing put up around the lake, as directed by the High Court orders. But a few drawbacks of this initiative by the BBMP and BDA were discovered when they carried out the lake’s survey by a non-certified surveyor that led to the results being misleading. Also there have been accusations on BDA for leaving some encroached area un-fenced.

progress report

The following years have witnessed the construction of Sewage Treatment Plants (STOs), pumping station, lake bund as well as removal of silt and debris from the area. The most recent drive was initiated in January, 2019 by BBMP and BWSSP for construction of 5 million litres of STPs and an underground drain facility. Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) also got involved for transplanting around 50 trees on the lake bund in the same year. As of January 2019, 75% of the work related to STPs has been completed.

When asked about the situation of the lake and the encroachment drive in the area, Krishnamurthy, a local resident said, “The lake used to be very beautiful some years back. The situation changed around five years back when big residential buildings started booming which resulted in the dumping of wastes in the lake. The situation of the lake depends on the authority who is in charge of the lake. Some years back, the BBMP came and demolished all residential areas resulting in a huge loss for all of us. Demolition took place based on an ancient map of the area with markings for the lake, but neither did they revive the lake nor could we come out of our losses. They come late everyday for work which is why the process of revival is taking so long. It is our fate that we are underprivileged and poor that they trouble us and not other people living near other lakes because they have money and power”.

to conclude..

Over the course of the past two decades, Sarakki and Arekere lake have undergone dramatic changes. Sarakki lake, which measured an astounding 86 acres during the 2000s now measures a mere 60 acres (approx.) after illegal encroachments along its periphery. Meanwhile, Arekere lake’s area has drastically reduced from 37 acres to 29 acres owning to dumping of waste, debris and slum dwellings. Though several anti- encroachment drives have been conducted for both the lakes at various points over the past decade, the initiatives’ agency in bringing about long term stability to the lake ecosystems remains largely diminutive.

As part of the initiatives taken by various government bodies and NGOs, revival projects have been started at both the lakes. However, the process seems to be at a standstill for Arekere lake. At Sarakki lake however, BDA along with BBMP seems to have taken measures to ensure that the lake is revived by June 2019.

The government needs to be more proactive when it comes to the rejuvenation of these lakes. The way in which BDA managed to revive Madiwala lake by de-silting, fencing and promoting recreational activities is an excellent example of how a government authority should function towards such pertinent issues. They must ensure that untreated sewage is not discharged into the water bodies, solid waste is properly disposed of and illegal structures are not constructed around the periphery. Also, environmental awareness programs must be conducted to increase public participation. Restoration and conservation strategies have to be implemented to maintain ecological balance of aquatic ecosystems and biodiversity.