They kill the lakes

Floods recently exposed the city’s unplanned development. And how it had allowed encroachment on its lakes and catchment areas. Amit Upadhye delves into the greed of the land mafia and finds out how it will be the ruin of us all...

As Bangalore does not have a natural drinking water source, lakes were built to store water. At one time the city boasted 596 lakes, but today the number of ‘live’ lakes has dwindled to 64.
Over the years several lakes have been encroached on to make way for the construction of highrises. Many of the city’s old lakes have been converted
into bus stands, stadia and shopping complexes. It is both private builders and the government guilty of encroachment.
“In Bangalore, real estate prices have shot up. Lakes are easy prey for encroachers. When there is an encroachment, we inform the revenue authorities who take action under the Karnataka public premises Act,” B K Singh, chief executive officer, Lake Development Authority, says.
“Due to unplanned development, the recent rains caused havoc in the city. The rainwater could not percolate down and so inundated buildings. More than lakes, it’s the encroachment of the ‘rajakaluva’, the main stormwater drain which led to a crises during the rains. These drains connect the three valleys from where the rainwater flows to the rivers,” he adds.
According to court orders issued in 1995, lake land should not be allotted for any purpose. Even if the lake has dried up, it should be revived.
Today two historic lakes in the city are seeing their last days. A portion of Millers Tank behind Ambedkar Bhavan and another lake behind the Old Binny Mills could soon disappear as work on both their tank beds is on full swing. While the Millers Tank is being dug up to erect a high–rise, the Old Binny Mills lake is being filled up to make space for a commercial complex.
“If the encroachment of lakes continues, the surviving lakes in the city will also vanish. The lakes on the outskirts are overrun with weeds and serve as dumping grounds for untreated urban sewage and industrial effluents,” says Arun Prasad, Research Head of Discover Bangalore.
Dharam Singh had assured Bangaloreans that the Government would take a policy decision to restore the lakes after the recent floods. Nothing happened. And now a new government with less knowledge of these concerns is at the helm.
Says an environmentalist, “The authorities are hand in glove with the encroachers; The greed of the land mafia and the neglect of authorities has turned Bangalore’s lakes into virtual graveyards. This has led to the gradual desertification of the rich wetlands of Bangalore.”
-Amit S. Upadhye