The statistics on the number of lakes that have disappeared or are polluted in Bengaluru are alarming. Lakes have been encroached upon and several lakes have been polluted by untreated sewage and industrial waste.
There is constant news of frothing lakes and lakes catching fire. However, even amid this bleak picture there are citizen groups who are committed to saving lakes. Friends of Lakes (FOL) is one such community that has been doing commendable work.
The group started by rejuvenating Vidyaranyapura and Doddabommsandra lakes, but has now expanded their work to include other lakes. “About a decade ago, we started cleaning lakes and wanted to form lake groups to save our lakes. Currently, we have more than 50 lake groups in Bengaluru City alone, and many more from different Sates are also asking us to start chapters in different States/cities such as Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, etc,” says Madhuri Subbarao, co-founder of FOL.
Madhuri says they advocate for lakes by getting people to tag lakes so that they can be revived and protected. “We want citizens to be the real custodians of lakes,” says Madhuri.
There has been a lot of criticism around the Karnataka Lake Conservation and Development Authority (KLCDA) being converted to the Karnataka Tank Conservation and Development Authority (KTCDA).
Madhuri says: “The FOL is not campaigning against KTCDA. We want to understand the relevance of the urban lakes and helping the government to form rules to mitigate any such distinction from urban to rural lakes/tanks. The urban lake systems are quite different from the rural lakes. We want more community engagements in reviving lakes. We want more voluntary/ citizen charter groups to be advisory bodies to governments on managing lakes better.
“We want to map the lakes, which will hold basic information on lakes and shall be a repository for major Governments for Environmental research.”
Lakes are the most ignored water body, contends Madhuri. However their importance cannot be understated, especially in the light of the Cauvery issue. By reviving lakes, the entire city will be supplied with water, argues Madhuri. Bellandur Lake has received a lot of media attention. Madhuri, however, says that even though Bellandur Lake is a cause for worry, there are other lakes that have more critical issues.
“In Peenya Industrial area there are effluents in lakes. Another case is of a builder laying a road on the Sompura Lake in Sarjapur main road. Also parts of Varthur Lake are being pumped into fields where vegetables are grown. These vegetables are so toxic that they have a shelf life of only a day,” she rues.
For details visit their Facebook page https://www. facebook.com/Friends- of-Lakes-613068188787478/
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