From 264 lakes to only 84

From 264 lakes to only 84

Saving The City’s Water Bodies Before It’s Too Late

TIMES NEWS NETWORK


Bangalore: Not the dying lakes. Rather ways to save their remnants across the city was the focus of a seminar on ‘How to save lakes of Bangalore’, jointly organized by the Bangalore Environment Trust and Arghyam on Saturday. So what’s the solution? Collectively act and consistently educate. Win the final war with a ‘public opinion’ that puts pressure on the legislature to work on a balanced water plan for Bangalore.
Bureaucrats are asking people for support and citizens are replying, “Yes, we’re ready, show us how...”
But amidst this encouraging sign, the alarming number of encroachments upon lakes and water bodies drying up make people feel that the government is not doing anything to solve this issue.
“Nothing much can be done unless the government stops ‘regularization’ of tank bed encroachments. All these lakes must be restored through stringent measures,” said former additional chief secretary V Balasubramanian.
LESSON FROM SINGAPORE
“Singapore once had problems with the Singapore River, which got mixed up with sewage. But they restored it. Much of it through governance, unlike policies here that change from one budget period to another,” explained Ravi Narayan, advisor to Arghyam.
“We need a sequential plan of events where projects are built around a policy developed within a comprehensive system. This should involve the people too. In short, we need a vision that translates into political will,” he said.
UNCOMFORTABLE REALITY
Lakes in Bangalore are drying up. Tanks are lost to sewers and sediments, some even to development of new layouts. A few are lost to rising phosphate content in detergents. River banks are eroded due to construction activities and brick manufacturing work, while inlets are clogged by waste. Above all these, encroachment is the major culprit.
Many slums are located on the mouth of tank beds. But politicians see slum-dwellers as votebanks and don’t tell them to leave tank areas. A bill of the Lake Development Authority is pending, which can give some teeth to fight encroachments.
There were 264 lakes in 1970; they have been reduced to 84 — theoretically. The actual number is less. This, despite having at least 11 government departments working on lakes. The twin issues are floods that occur after every 50-mm rainfall, and shortage of drinking water. Till 1972, many of these lakes had potable water.