So far, the BBMP has managed to recover only 46 acres. BBMP officials admit that parts of most lakes in the city have been encroached upon over a period of time by various builders. | Photo Credit: BHAGYA PRAKASH K
As Bengalureans try to move on from the deluge that crippled normal life recently, the focus was back on the city’s neglected lakes, many of which rose from inconspicuousness with a fury rarely seen before. The Hindu delves into what ails Bengaluru’s once famous lakes and where they stand today.
In various parts of Bengaluru, residents are still living in fear of a downpour that might leave their localities and homes inundated, and roads flooded again after the recent havoc.
As the city, parts of which went under water, made headlines for all the wrong reasons and the blame game began, the authorities started a drive against illegal encroachments on storm-water drains.
A view of Hulimavu lake in Bengaluru. | Photo Credit: BHAGYA PRAKASH K
A view of the Sarakki lake at Puttenahalli in Bengaluru. | Photo Credit: BHAGYA PRAKASH K
But so far, no action has been taken to remove encroachments on lakes, which is also one of the major reasons for the flood-like situation in the city, according to activists and experts.
According to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), around 303 of 3,622 acres under 210 lakes in the city have been encroached.
So far, the BBMP has managed to recover only 46 acres. BBMP officials admit that parts of most lakes in the city have been encroached upon over a period of time by various builders, including tech parks, developers, schools and colleges, and also by government agencies and departments.
The civic body, which has to remove these encroachments, is facing multiple hurdles to act against them.
“From a few guntas to acres, lakes have been encroached upon in various parts of the city. One of the main issues to identify the encroachments is a shortage of surveyors. If surveyors can identify the encroachment, then the BBMP can at least start removing the encroachments on lakes. But so far, the shortage of surveyors is causing a delay in identifying encroachments,” an official said.
There are other problems too. “The civic body faced issues during the recent anti-encroachment drive conducted to remove the encroachment on SWDs. Further, the BBMP has to face legal hurdles after identifying lake encroachments as we issue a notice to remove them, but the property owners go to court and bring a stay order. This leads to more delay till the legal battle settles,” the official added.
V. Ramprasad, convener and co-founder of Friends of Lake, said that the lake encroachment survey and clearance drive should be more aggressive.
“The only reason that our city is flooded is due to the encroachment of lakes and SWDs, which are the only link to the smooth water flow in the city. The city typography is such that lakes and SWDs play a very important role to make sure that the water flows smoothly without creating a flood-like situation. However, now both links being encroached upon, all the vulnerable areas located in the Vrushabhavathi, Hebbal, Koramangala, and Challaghatta valleys are causing flooding.”
Mr. Ramprasad also said that the flooding during rains is also the result of mismanagement of the landscape of the city apart from the encroachment of wetlands and valleys.
“For instance, during every rain, a tech park gets inundated because of alleged encroachment as it is situated near the Hebbal valley. Hence, the authorities have to start clearing encroachments near the valleys,” he added.
A view of Hebbal lake in Bengaluru. With both lakes and SWDs being encroached upon, all vulnerable areas located in the Vrushabhavathi, Hebbal, Koramangala and Challaghatta valleys are causing flooding in Bengaluru. | Photo Credit: Sudhakara Jain
(Readers may email their comments to letters.bangalore@thehindu.co.in)
