Wake up Bengaluru! Study finds 95% of city lakes encroached upon, polluted

The study of 31 lakes in the city revealed that 32% of those involved in lake-revival activities were experts and resource persons

An in-depth study of 40 lakes within the city found that 95 per cent of them had been encroached upon, 85 per cent had experienced solid waste dumping, and sewage was discovered freely flowing into 80 per cent of the waterbodies.

The study, which is part of a working paper published by the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), also found that citizen groups, NGOs, and Residents Welfare Associations (RWAs) played a crucial role in preserving and revitalising the lakes.

It also concluded that the efforts of civic groups in lake restoration had diverse tangible and intangible impacts.

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Dr Manasi S, co-author of the paper titled ‘How Civic Groups are Meeting the Challenges of Saving Bengaluru Lakes: A Study’, mentioned that city lakes are riddled with several problems.

“But the involvement of NGOs and lake protection groups has made a huge difference. They have helped the city reclaim many lakes and solve a variety of lake management issues by collaborating with different groups, government agencies, and stakeholders,” added Dr Manasi.

The researchers noted that the Environment Support Group (ESG) filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) opposing the privatisation of lakes. Over the years, civic groups have taken an initiative to protect lakes.

“Local citizens are the ones who suffer or benefit from the condition of the lakes and so they play a crucial role in their maintenance,” said V Ramprasad, co-founder and convener of the group Friends of Lakes (FoL), noting that encouraging such groups help in participatory governance.

“Only through such participation, sustainability can be achieved,” Ramprasad added.

Another activist pointed out that citizen groups flag issues that are usually neglected.

“Compared to roads, parks and other infrastructure, lakes usually get less importance. The amount of funds (allocated for their maintenance) is also less,” said lake activist Balaji Raghotham Bali. “In such a situation, citizens take the lead and reach out to officials.”

In their attempt to evaluate Bengaluru’s urban environment movement , the researchers noted that at least 43 such groups are in operation. A majority of such groups have come up during the post economic reform period when the city witnessed drastic growth due to the IT boom.

While only three groups operated between 2007 and 2009, it rose to 33 between 2013 and 2015, and has now reached 43.

Over the years, experts and resource persons have also joined the cause and offered their knowledge to help protect the lakes.

The study of 31 lakes in the city revealed that 32 per cent of those involved in lake-revival activities were experts and resource persons, while 42 per cent were affiliated with civic groups.