Residents assume mantle of reviving Chunchaghatta lake

 Nearly 100 residents of JP Nagar 7th Phase converged at the lesser-known Chunchaghatta lake in southern Bengaluru on Sunday morning as part of a growing campaign to revive the shrinking waterbody.

The 20-acre waterbody feeds Sarakki lake and the downstream of Kothnur lake. The locals have formed a group and visit the lake every Sunday to clear the mess it has become.

While the state government has allocated Rs 6 crore for the revival of the neighbouring Sarakki lake, it has done little for Chunchaghatta lake. Residents even wonder who is the custodian of the lake: Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) or Bangalore Development Authority (BDA).

Lingaraj Dinni, a resident of JP Nagar 7th Phase, said locals were making amends for not waking up to the lake’s neglect earlier.

“Though most of us live just a few metres away from the lake, not many knew of its existence until recently. This is because a part of it has become a garbage dumping yard. There is minimal encroachment around the lake compared to other waterbodies in the city. Its water is cleaner than that of other lakes. Many people do fishing here and kids swim. But the lake needs proper maintenance,” he said.

The volunteers put up benches around the platform and in the area facing the lake, fenced the waterbody’s front and installed lights. They also cleared garbage to make the small approach road accessible and put up signboards that provide direction to the lake.

Srinivas Alavilli, a member of people’s collective Citizens for Bengaluru (CfB) and a resident of JP Nagar, urged the government to allocate funds for the lake’s conservation.

“The lake gets filled to the brim in the monsoon, which shows that it has a lot of water-holding capacity. The government must do something to keep it going.”