Bird lovers fight for lake

Bird lovers fight for lake
AMIT S. UPADHYE
DC | BENGALURU


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● DEVELOPMENT WILL KILL PUTTENEHALLI LAKE: EXPERTS

Bird lovers willnot easily give up one of the most important water bodies in the city to development.
Puttenahalli Lake in Yelahanka, known as the ‘nesting bowl’ for aquatic birds, has been taken over by BBMP for development and bird lovers are now demanding that the lake be spared.

BBMP has taken over 17 city lakes for development activities. According to them, any kind of developmental activity at the lake will hamper the fragile biological diversity that exists here.

The city, known for its wetland system in the past, is now left with only 34 healthy tanks, out of which 14 are in Bengaluru North.

The Puttenahalli lake important because more than 7,000 birds can be sighted here in the breeding season.

The avi-fauna of this lake includes some endangered and migratory birds from the northern Himalayas and Siberia. “BBMP has not announced the developmental plans for the lakes so far.

But lakes earlier developed by civic agencies have turned out to be unsuitable for birds and other biodiversity. Hence it is important to see lakes as an ecological design nor just an engineering design,” says Dr S. Subramanya, a leading bird expert from Bengaluru.

Bird lovers will protest against the government for failing to manage the city’s potential wetlands.

“Birds which have made these lakes their homes since several decades will be deprived of their best nesting habitat. Puttenahalli lake can be developed into one of the finest bird watching hot spots,” feels biodiversity expert M.B. Krishna.

According to Mr Krishna, developmental activities such as boating and recreation options for people disturbs birds that abandon the lakes. “With no birds and fauna thriving, the lakes will be reduced to mere water tanks and will no longer remain a lake ecosystem.” When contacted, a senior BBMP official said the civic body will take necessary suggestions from ecologists before implementing any kind of developmental activities in city lakes.

“Rejuvenation of the lake will solve water problems in the city to a great extent,” the official said.