VANISHING LAKES

A STUDY OF BANGALORE CITY

PRESENTED BY
GROUP 3
Beautiful
Bangalore

Water crisis in
Bangalore

SECTION F
JEH | PRANITA | SAMEER |SHUBHAM | SURAJ

INTRODUCTION
Lakes are formed along three major
valley systems Herbal, Vrishabavathi
and Koramangala- Challghatta
All lakes built and interconnected by an
intrinsic network of canals
Lakes help conserve water during
monsoons and preserve it for post
monsoon period use
Biodiversity rich wetlands help in
replenishing the ground water

CURRENT STATUS OF LAKES

Over 400 lakes in the 1950s have reduced
to 200
Lakes, largely encroached for urban
infrastructure, in the city only 17 good
lakes exist as against 51 healthy lakes in
1985
Majority of the waste generated (5000
metric tonnes in 2012) being dumped in
the lakes

EFFECT OF SUCH ACTIONS

Frequent flooding and microclimatic
changes in the city
Scarcity of groundwater leading to water
drawing of three and half times the amount
received to recharge
Undesirable impact on the diversity of flora
and fauna
Decrease in the number of migratory birds
Lakes are toxic with less dissolved oxygen
Fishing community and washer-men will be
robbed of their livelihood

LAKE REJUVENATION MODELS

Privatization
Private Public
partnership
State efforts

HEBBAL LAKE
Leased out to the Oberoi Hotel for a
period of 15 years for an annual amount
of 72 lakhs
Shortage of funds and inadequate
staffing being the main reason for
privatization
An extremely controversial step, which
met with widespread resistance from
civil society, environmentalists, and
activist groups
Lake is now visited by migratory birds
that arrive from various European
countries

CONSEQUENCES OF PRIVATIZATION
Adverse impact on interactions between
people and ecological commons
Resulted in lake being used exclusively by
wealthy urban residents for recreational
purposes
Direct use for fishing and washing was
overlooked
Engineered it into a an exclusionary common
for consumption and entertainment
Resulted in Social Exclusion of the
marginalised disempowered communities

LAKE REJUVENATION MODELS

Privatization
Private Public
partnership

State efforts

PUTTENAHALLI LAKE- FEATURES AND PROBLEMS

Property belonged to BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru
Mahanagara Palike)
Rapid modernization and land demand led to
lake filling
Unchecked sewage, waste dumping degrading
lake water quality
Fear of malaria led to elimination of the lake
rather than real cause
Lack of funds and personnel to maintain led to
neglect of the lake
Free ridership of native due to lack of
accountability

CONDITION BEFORE RESTORATION

Rampant encroachment

Dysfunctional water inlets

Water level receding

Garbage and sewage dumping

Personal plantain grove

Vibrant flora and fauna (bird)

depleted

REJUVENATION PROCESS
BBMP demarcated the land and evicted
unlawful encroachers
It then cleaned the landfill and put them in
the borders to make a path way
It invited nearby community for
maintenance and helped them form a trust
The trust organized various functions to
encourage people to participate in lake
preservation
It also encouraged various companies and
organization to plant trees and saplings

REJUVENATION PROCESS

Made various facilities like

rain water harvesting, seating
space, paved jogging track
etc.
Made effort to replenish the
water level which was
depended on rain water only

REJUVENATION PROCESS

In order to increase the bird count in the lake various bird resting place was made
Plastics and other non-biodegradable materials usage was discouraged
BBMP also taking steps to lawfully relocate the slum dweller to permanent location

REJUVENATED LAKE

LAKE REJUVENATION MODELS

Privatization
Private Public
partnership

State efforts

REVIVAL OF JAKKUR LAKE

200 year old lake in the northeastern part of the city
Main lake in the chain of lakes
comprising of the Yelahanka Lake
upstream and the Rachenahalli
Lake downstream
It is about 140 acres large
Lake was polluted by chemical,
sewage and garbage dumped into
it by nearby area

Jakkur Lake before

restoration

Fencing around Jakkur

Lake

The task for reviving the lake was taken up by

Bangalore Development Authority i.e. under
State Property
The operation and maintenance of the plant is
managed by a private company, on contract with
the BWSSB

STEPS INVOLVED IN REVIVAL PLAN

BDA dewatered the lake and
fenced it to prevent the free
entry of the villagers and
passerby
Setting up of a Wastewater
Treatment Plant upstream of
Jakkur Lake, with the capacity
to treat 10 million litres per day
(MLD) of wastewater

Sewage Treatment Plant

Filter for separating solid

and liquid waste

Establishing a man-made wetland

integrated with an algal pond to further
clean treated water
Finally, wind and sunlight do another round
of cleaning before it's released into the lake
Man Made
Wetland

LAKE AFTER REJUVENATION

Hotspot of bio diversity
The biggest cohort that is
highly dependent on the lake
for their livelihood are the
fishermen
On a normal day, they are
able to collect at least 100
kilograms of various kinds of
fish and during peak season
up to 500 kilograms

Biodiversity

Fishermans livelihood

CREATION OF INTEGRATED URBAN

WATER MANAGEMENT
Only three fourth of the capacity of
STP is utilized
Lake takes sewage from
neighboring yelahanka instead of
Jakkur itself
Extraction of water by private bore
wells in an unregulated manner
Many buildings in Jakkur are
unaware of BWSSB STP and have
their own Sewage Treatment Plants
If a closed loop of water supply and
wastewater to the lake is made,
then the system would become an

Jakkur Lake after restoration

BELLANDUR LAKE
Catchment area of about 148 sq. km
Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) is the
present
Surrounded 18 villages (pre 1970)
Villagers depended on it for agriculture and
fisheries
Over 400 fishing families
This was also a sea-plane channel (in 1940s)
nearby villages used to celebrate annual
Theppotsava (boat festival)
lake is a receptor from three chains of lakes
upstream

MISERY OF BELLANDUR LAKE

MISERY OF BELLANDUR LAKE

Untreated sewage water entering into the lake
through various inlets
Overflow of drain water mixing with rain water
Lack of effluent treatment plants to treat industrial
Dysfunctional sewage treatment plant
Dumping of domestic waste from nearby areas
Receives approximately 40% of sewage workers
Depth reducing due deposition of silt and waste in
lake bed
Detergents and chemicals create froth due to
minor turbulence
Dumping of domestic oil and flammable chemicals
causes fire in the lake
lake is covered with weeds and silts at the banks
Bore well water nearby are found to be rich in
phosphorous, ammonia
Cases of water borne diseases in nearby areas

MISERY OF BELLANDUR LAKE

Govt. apathy due to high cost of setting up STPs
High transaction cost of maintenance of STPs
Free rider behavior of nearby residents and SMEs
Total capacity of existing STPs at K&C Valley is 305
MLD
Operates at 70% capacity
Illegal waste, sewage dumping and encroachment
Power struggle hinders finding solution to the
problem
Bureaucracy delay in starting rejuvenation works

MISERY OF BELLANDUR LAKE

RECOMMENDATIONS
Lakes are different from each other; a generic solution may not work for every
lake
Rejuvenation to be taken up on the basis of lake series
Foremost step is to stop the entry of raw sewage and other wastes into the lake
Formation of lake management communities involving the local residents
Privatization of the lakes should be avoided as it fails to transfer the benefits to
the masses and rather restricts them to limited wealthy individuals
Maintenance of lakes through an arrangement between the state and the local
community seems to be the most feasible solution

CONCLUSION
as