Citizens roiled over Palike's plan to revive Halagevaderahalli lake

The residents of Rajarajeshwari Nagar are up in arms against the plans of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to ‘rejuvenate’ the Halagevaderahalli Lake at a cost of Rs two crore.

This, at a time, when the residents’ efforts to save one of the City’s oldest water bodies, are bearing fruits.

The Palike has created an island in the middle of the water body and built the lake bund, along with beautifying the entire area. It has also laid drains that would fetch rainwater flowing through side drains of the residential locality.

The residents are wary of BBMP’s plan to divert a major stormwater drain (SWD), which flows next to Halagevaderahalli, into the water body. They fear that diverting the stormwater drain into the water body will defeat the purpose of lake rejuvenation.

In the process of letting the stormwater into the rejuvenated water body, the Palike has damaged a good portion of the concrete wall of the stormwater drain, which was built only a few months ago.

BBMP officials, however, claim that the existing rainwater will not be sufficient to fill the water body and hence, the need to divert rainwater into the lake.

They said only a few feet of the wall would be demolished to allow rainwater to flow into the water body during rainy season and not the sewage.

The residents said that they would write to the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board, asking it to stop the flow of sewage into the stormwater drain.

Sewage treatment plant

The BBMP officials have suggested setting up of a sewage treatment plant near the water body and let the treated water into the lake.

However, the residents are not convinced, as they believe it would only choke the water body.

Niveditha, a member of Icare (a local group of residents), said she did not want BBMP to prepare plans which were not lake-friendly.

“If the intention was to spoil the water body, then why did the BBMP spend so much for its rejuvenation? We do not want rainwater coming through the major SWD,” she said.
Another member of the group said such plans were made so that the ‘lucrative business’ of de-weeding and de-silting continues.