Lakes continue to dry up despite good rains

Lakes continue to dry up despite good rains
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: The monsoons chose to shower Bangalore with excellent rainfall in 2004. Yet many of its lakes, instead of overflowing, continue to dry up. At one time the city could boast 262 lakes, but now it has barely 150. Of these, only around 35 are ‘‘living’’.

Urbanisation has taken a heavy toll on these water bodies. The water flow into the city’s three main valleys -- Hebbal, Koramangala-Challaghatta and Vrishabhavathi -- has been obstructed in many places thanks to the indiscriminate construction of buildings.

‘‘The natural process is for the water to flow from one lake to the next in a cascading effect, until it reaches the rivers. But now the cityscape is changing, preventing this flow. The inlets and outlets of several lakes have been destroyed. So even though we’ve had 1,200 mm rainfall in 2004, the lakes have not really benefited,’’ says Lake Development Authority executive engineer N. Rajendra Prasad.

One such example is the Yediyur Lake, on which the LDA spent lakhs to clean up. The lake was drained, the tank bed de-silted and restrictions imposed against idol immersion. Despite the changes, the lake has not completely filled up. ‘‘There is a problem with the inlet alignment. We are looking into it,’’ an LDA official said.

Another reason for lake degradation is the appalling lack of cleanliness. The water bodies are dirtied either directly by people or through the sewage that enters them. If the underground drainage system is not in place in localities around the lake, the sewage can get into storm water drainpipes and through them, reach the water bodies. This can be noticed in several lakes in the city, notably Bellandur and Kempambudhi.

The LDA plans to tackle the problem by setting up treatment plants near the lakes, as it is not always possible to divert the sewage away from the lake. A tertiary plant has already been commissioned for Lalbagh. Another one of 2 MLD (million litres per day) capacity is in the pipeline for Ulsoor.

The authority has so far conducted surveys of 142 lakes in Bangalore. The detailed report will be sent to the Centre through the State Government. Besides the revival and cleaning up of lakes, the LDA plans to take other initiatives.

Small islands of plants will be created in the lakes to encourage bird life, while an afforestation drive will soon begin in the surrounding areas for water conservation.