Bhoganahalli lake’s delayed rejuvenation

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Published on October 5, 2019 by

Bhoganahalli lake’s delayed rejuvenation

The lake has been emptied, eroded without sufficient attention as BBMP limps to finish the rejuvenation of this dead water body.

Bhavya Kumar | 1st October, 2019

BBMP has been working on the rejuvenation of Bhoganahalli lake for almost a year now. On paper the project sounded like a sigh of relief for the health of dying lakes but the results are barely visible on the ground. The residents of Bhoganahalli are unhappy with the destruction of lake and the lethargy of the BBMP.

“We have been waiting for the completion of lake rejuvenation for a year now. BBMP is working so slowly and abruptly, the lake is only getting worse. The rainwater has gotten stagnant in the lake bed and breeding mosquitoes. We don’t have fresh water anymore. Even the boulders installed on the banks of the lake are eroding the land,” said  Nandish, who lives a kilometre away from the lake.

BBMP had earmarked Rs. 1.92 crore for the rejuvenation of the lake and started by pumping out the water from the lake. Now, silt is being removed. Boulders installed on the banks have left the grip of the soil. The lake bed is partially filled with dirty stagnant water while the other side is full of silt and cement. Some plants on the edge of the lake have been crushed by the boulders. The BBMP says they don’t have enough funds to complete the project at a fast pace.

“The work in Bhoganahalli lake is in progress. As of now, with the budget we have we could complete only one formation, inlet and outlet. The next development will take place in one and half months. The completion of the project will depend on how early we get the budget.” said Shilpa, an official from the lake development department, BBMP.

The lake was once home to several species of birds and a source of water for cattle in the locality. With uninterrupted pollution through the years, the health of the lake deteriorated to unrecoverable extent. Ultimately, the rejuvenation project was started to bring back life into the lake.

Ram Prasad, the co-founder of Friends of Lakes, an organisation aiming to raise awareness for the aforementioned depleting water bodies said, “If you want to see sustainable lake rejuvenation, the technical committee needs to have environmental engineers, toxicologists, hydrological engineers. They need to plan the rejuvenation in way we don’t have to clean the lake all over. Persistent and persuasive ways are needed to get a clean lake that lasts a long time.”

 

 

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