Residents of Sarjapur Bangalore came together to revive Drying Kaikondanhalli lake
The people of Bengaluru under the unique campaign “Wake the Lake” witnessed the “Lake-a-Thon” on Sunday morning which was graced upon by the leading corporate, celebrities, environmentalists and the neighborhood in Kaikondanhalli lake, Sarjapur road.
The “Wake the Lake” is campaign initiated by United Way Bengaluru (UWBe), an affiliate of United Way Worldwide to protect the withering lakes in the city. The campaign, “Wake the Lake” is aimed at restoration and rejuvenation of the dying lakes which have been the victims of urbanization in the city.
“Two years ago, the lake had been reduced to a garbage dump. In the last 16 months, after the concerted efforts of people in the neighbourhood, we have noticed at least 54 species of birds here. And about 200 ducks can now be seen on the lake,” said Sohel Mohammed, who has been studying biodiversity in the area for the past three years.
“With the lake having gone quite dry, we had no big lakes in our neighbourhood. The water we got was terribly contaminated. The crowd today might have been a larger one, if so many people were not laid low by water-borne diseases,” said Sivaram, adding that the residents had formed associations to take turns negotiating water deals with suppliers.
The Mahadevapura Parisara Samrakshane Mattu Abhivrudhi Samiti (federation of resident welfare associations of ward 150), worked with the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) towards the restoration of the lake.
BBMP has undertaken the first part of the lake rejuvenation i.e. removing encroachments, fencing the lakes, diverting sewage water, installing sewage treatment plants, planting trees and creating the walk path. United Way Bengaluru along with the community will ensure the work done by BBMP is sustained, and lakes are well maintained round the year, that would include putting security guards, maintaining the flora around the lake, ensuring no one is dumping debris, diverting sewerage etc.
“We’ve suffered with water shortage here for a long time. There is an acute shortage. Not a drop, sometimes,” said Ramesh Sivaram, a resident of the area. Sivaram has been active in the rejuvenation efforts on Kaikondrahalli Lake. After 16 months of work, this group is beginning to see signs of revival in the water body.
Under World Health Organisation norms, each person requires at least 150 litres of water per day, for comfortably taking care of all one’s needs. In Belandur, only four litres of water are available per person per day.
DNA
Bangalore, BBMP Bangalore, Belandur, Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike, Kaikondanhalli lake, Lake-a-thon, Resident Welfare Associations, restoration and rejuvenation of the dying lakes, Sarjapur Bangalore, Sarjapur Road, United Way Bengaluru, Wake the Lake Campaign
