Joining hands for Arakere lake

Members of ANIT, residents and school children form a human chain and stage a protest to save Arakere Lake in Arakere-Puttenahalli area in Bangalore on 16th February. Photo :Saurav Kumar

Hundreds joined hands, literally, to form a human chain and raise awareness about the “slow death” of Arakere lake.

Organised by the Arakere Neighbourhood Improvement Trust (ANIT) here on Saturday, environmentally conscious citizens urged government agencies to rejuvenate the water body by clearing encroachments and preventing pollutants from entering the 2.5-acre lake.

“Not very long ago, the lake was the primary source of drinking water for residents in surrounding areas. It is now a cesspool of sewage and has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes. The stench is unbearable,” said G. Anjanappa, a resident.

ANIT chairperson Arbind Gupta said the objective of the event was to create awareness about the urgent need to save the lake.

Meeta K. Walavalkar, managing trustee of ANIT, accused various government agencies of passing the buck, leading to inordinate delays in taking up the rejuvenation work. She claimed the Bangalore Development Authority was ready to take up the work, while the Revenue Department was yet to transfer ownership to the authority after clearing the encroachments.