JOIN US Lake activists and members of Halanayakanahalli Grama Panchayat took part in a walkathon on Sunday to raise awareness on the need to revive Halanayakanahalli lake located off Sarjapur Road.
Spread across 80 acres, the lake was filled with water till 2005. But slowly the water body dried up, members of Gram Panchayat said.
Bharati Swaminathan, a lake activist who stays in Rainbow Drive Layout on Sarjapur Road, said: “Earlier rainwater used to enter the lake from the nearby stormwater drains. But this connection was cut off. Due to which the lake started drying up. It comes under the purview of panchayat but the authorities such as Lake Development Authority (LDA) should take some steps to rejuvenate it.”
Panchayat members say that due to construction activity in the area, the SWD connections were cut off. Another reason for the existing condition of the lake is the nearby feeder lake called Kaatcharu lake. “Water from the feeder lake used to go to the main lake. But that is stopped now as there is no water there,” added Swaminathan.
Halanayakanahalli lake is divided into three parts such as Halanayakanahalli Lake, Chikkanayakanahalli Lake and Chikkannelli Lake. Grama Panchayat development officer Ramesh S said borewells dug up on the lake bed too have gone dry. “There are five borewells out of which two were dug by Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) five years ago. But none of them are of any use. The government authorities should let the SWD connections into the lake as it is the only solution to give a fresh lease of life. We are planning to approach LDA in the coming days and request it to take measures for rejuvenation of the lake,” said Ramesh.
On Sunday, around 150 lake activists and Grama Panchayat members took part in the walkathon.