JOIN USWhile many lakes and water bodies in the City were shrunk due to indiscriminate encroachment or lack of maintenance, the Vajarahalli lake, off Kanakapura Road, has a different story to tell.
Vajarahalli lake, spread over 1.25 acres near Sri Kumaran School, will soon come to life as the members of the Residents Welfare Associations (RWAs) in the lake vicinity have planned to revive it.
“The lake was once brimming with clean water and was an abode to diverse aquatic life attracting migratory birds. Over the last ten years, the water levels receded and eventually the lake dried up with weeds and shrubs replacing the water. With groundwater levels going low, we thought of taking the first steps to revive the lake,” said S Upendra, Vice-president, Shriram Symphonye Residents’ Association.
The occupants of the Shriram Symphonye, Shriram Surabhi and Purva Highlands apartments, under the leadership of Upendra and three others Sriram, Suresh and KL Kuchroo, joined hands to resurrect the lake a month and a half ago.
“We did some research on the lake’s history and discussed on what steps should be taken to restore its old glory. In the first phase, we cleaned the entire outer periphery of the lake on May 10. With the support of more than 100 volunteers, we cleared three to four truckloads of debris,” said, Sriram Balasubramanian, President of Shriram Surabhi Association.
“The lake is under the control of BBMP and falls under Yeshwantpur Assembly constituency. We have scheduled a meeting on May 17 during which the BBMP officials and the local MLA Somasekhar are expected to take part. We are planning to get tahsildar for demarcation of the lake boundary.
Our next plan is to clean the waterbody,” added Upendra. BBMP Engineer (Lakes) Ravi said that they have floated a Rs 90 lakh tender to upgrade waterbody and works for the same will start soon.
He said, “The Palike will create a walking path apart from taking up cleaning activities. Later, the works on beautification of the lake will be taken up. Ornamental trees will be planted at an estimated cost of Rs 3 lakh.”