When Community Works Together, Lakes Can Come to Life
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THE REVIVAL OF PU tt ENAHALLI LAKE When community works together, Lakes can come to life Every Lake Counts 1 2 Message What began as a dream became a reality. The once dying Puttenahalli (Puttakere) Lake in South Bengaluru which we adopted in May 2011 is now a beautiful thriving water body teeming with fish, birds and other living organisms. From one Wild date palm (Phoenix sylvestris) in the largely dry lake bed in 2008, we now have many species and over 400 trees, countless shrubs and climbers around the periphery of the water. The entire area has undergone a sea change. This did not happen overnight but over eight years of systematic hard work doing what we believe is the best for the lake. Not alone but by working in partnership with the government and involving the people living in the vicinity of the lake. For, our ultimate aim is to make our lake the responsibility of the community. Only then will it survive now and in the future. As much as we take pride in the lake as it is now, we are grateful to Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), all our volunteers, well-wishers and donors. They lead us to believe that nothing is impossible if we work together. We can bring lakes back to life and make open spaces green and growing. Rich or poor, clean air and water are the only true and vital legacies we can leave our children. Usha Rajagopalan Chairperson Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust “We have the choice to use the gift of our life to make the world a better place--or not to bother. ” Jane Goodall 3 4 Message Not long ago lakes and open wells were the source Several cities and towns in our country have a of fresh water for the population in Bengaluru. It rich legacy of lakes and freshwater bodies. These was blessed with a series of cascading lakes and function as freshwater ecosystems, providing good rainfall. As the city grew, more buildings came essential environmental services. They provided up and more earth became covered with concrete a wide range of ecosystem benefits to ‘Cities’ and preventing percolation that would replenish ground ‘Citizens’. Some of these water bodies harbour water. On the other hand, the number of bore wells great diversities and concentration of bird species. are increasing further depleting ground water. The Hence, conservation of these water bodies is situation is grave and brooks no delay. The obvious imperative. It is in this context that Puttenhalli Lake solution is to fall back on our natural resources – is an important example - promoting the value lakes. We must restore Raja Kaluves and Storm of waterbodies to local community and residents Water Drains and lakes. We must stop sewage through education, learning and volunteering. and chemical effluents from contaminating water Conservation of water resources and its wise use bodies or set up Sewage Treatment Plants (STP). needs to become mainstream in our ‘Hearts’ and Above all Reduce, Recycle and Reuse and harvest ‘Minds’. ‘Citizen Science’ and ‘Experiential Learning’ rain water. programmes present a unique opportunity to promote the importance of public engagement Do not just wait for the government to act. Take in understanding the significance of freshwater inspiration from PNLIT. Only when citizens and the and green spaces and to inspire people to help public at large work together with the authorities, conserve them. will our water woes end. We do hope you will join us in our collective quest for healthy and sustainable freshwater ecosystems. S. Prabhala Bangalore Environment Trust Together we can leave a positive legacy for the future generations. Raghuvansh Saxena CEO Earthwatch Institute India “ Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead 5 Bengaluru: City of Lakes Located on the Deccan Plateau at an elevation of about 3,000 feet, with the surrounding land sloping gently, Bengaluru is dependent on local rainfall. The average annual rainfall of nearly 1000 mm would run off the slope, creating scarcity in summer. Kempe Gowda I from the Vijayanagara dynasty, constructed bunds on the natural valley system and built lakes (called ‘tanks’) in the region. In the 1800s, Major Sankey then Chief Engineer of Mysore interconnected these tanks in a cascading system of storm-water drains called Rajakaluve. Overflow from one tank filled the next and prevented flooding during monsoon. Bengaluru came to be called the ‘City of Thousand Lakes.’ 6 Puttenahalli Neighbourhood oversee the work. With BBMP inviting us in May 2011 to Lake Improvement Trust (PNLIT) sign an MoU, PNLIT became the first citizen custodians of a lake in Bengaluru. It is a matter of great satisfaction to see the lake full of life and the surroundings green Safeguarding Puttenahalli Lake and vibrant. Some of PNLIT’s initiatives which led (Puttakere) to the transformation of the lake are: The plight of this lake in our neighbourhood, J.P.Nagar (1). Prevention of sewage from entering the lake - The 7th Phase, made us realise that civic administration Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board alone cannot be held responsible for diminishing forests, (BWSSB) laid an underground drain in the bund. lakes and public open spaces. Citizens must also (2). Finding and provisioning new sources of water – contribute to safeguarding these common resources. The Trust got BBMP to divert surface runoff from We mooted a campaign in 2008 to save what an adjacent avenue into the lake. remained of Puttenahalli Lake from further shrinkage. Our endeavour paid off when the Bruhat Bengaluru (3). Feeding the lake with excess water from the Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) removed some of the illegal Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) of an apartment constructions and partially fenced the boundary, an complex, a pilot project of the Karnataka State area of 13 acres and 25 guntas before beginning the Pollution Control Board (KSPCB). process of rejuvenating the lake in early 2010. This (4). Planting trees, climbers and shrubs to attract birds boosted our morale and belief that an ordinary citizen’s and butterflies voice can be heard and that together we can indeed (5). Planting artificial perches in the lakebed for birds. make a difference to society. In June 2010, we formed (6). Improving water quality by growing plants in floating the Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement platforms, an innovation in Bengaluru. Trust (PNLIT), a not-for-profit charitable trust, to PNLIT acknowledges with deep gratitude all help received from the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP Lakes), Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), corporate partners, donors and the community around the lake. Current Board of Trustees - Usha Rajagopalan, Arathi Manay, O.P. Ramaswamy, Nupur Jain, Sangita Agrawal, Divya Shetty Core Volunteers - Sapana Rawat, Vijaya Balasubramaniam, Nandhini Sriraaman, Geetha Bhandary, Meher Vani, Shana Gokul, Madhurima Das, S.K. Srinivas, Vishnupriya Hathawar Earthwatch Institute India- Surbhi Sharma 7 Puttenahalli Lake 2009 Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust (PNLIT) Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust (PNLIT) in J.P.Nagar, South Bengaluru was registered in June 2010 as a non-profit charitable trust. The main planks of PNLIT are Puttenahalli lake conservation; assisting the government in resolving local issues; building local small businesses and supporting initiatives that will make the neighbourhood more hospitable and a better place to live in. Given the small size of our team, we have been focusing on bringing a Puttenahalli lake slowly back to life. Vision Encourage local communities to partner with the government to restore and nurture lakes in Bengaluru. Mission Make Puttenahalli Lake, a People’s Lake, replicable model of a citizen-led conservation project. Synopsis of Activities: (a). Nurturing the lake and its surroundings (b). Developing the lake as a focal point of promoting environment awareness (c). Encouraging and activating the local community to participate in nurturing the lake. Puttenahalli Lake 2018 Funding Sources It includes donations from neighbourhood residents and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) grants for projects. 8 A Community Endeavour To promote environmental awareness, we organise several programmes throughout the year for young people and adults at the lake premises. We invite residents and corporate employees to volunteer for “shramdan” at the lake. Such weekend gardening sessions become an invaluable “family time” with parents showing their children by example how to nurture trees and plants. Employees of companies spend delightful and useful hours working at the lake. Along with sharing our experience with these volunteers and potential lake groups, we also give talks and presentations at schools, corporate offices, media and public forums about the need and role of citizen participation in saving the environment. 9 Puttenahalli Lake Alive - Flora and Fauna 10 Problems and Issues Nurturing an open space is fraught with natural and manmade problems. Encroachers living on the bund make our lake especially vulnerable. In order to protect its fragile ecosystem we have had to deal with trespassers, poachers, vandals and arsonists as much as find solutions to fill the lake with clean water or remove invasive weeds like Salvinia molesta, Alligator weed and Duckweed. 11 Measures to Transform the Lake More than being mere watchdogs, we find ways to improve the lake and its premises. We get the infrastructural work done either through the BBMP or with CSR grants for specific projects with approval from the BBMP. Some of these initiatives are unique to Puttenahalli Lake, evolving from our problem-solving process. After a successful trial run of several months, we share the experience with others. Such as (1). Grill in the silt traps, (2). Improving the quality of the water with Artificial Floating Islands, (3).