A Saturday well spent at Madiwala Kere Habba

More than 500 people, including senior citizens and children, took part in an array of activities at the second edition of the Madiwala Kere Habba here on Saturday.

The day-long festival was marked by bird watching, cycling, yoga, drawing and painting competitions. Apart from this, children indulged in fun games such as  treasure hunt, clay modelling and a painting competition with a lake conservation theme.

The event was organised by the Namma Bengaluru Foundation in association with Better Bangalore-76 and the Forest department to create awareness on lake preservation and foster appreciation for lakes in the City.

Arbind Gupta from One Bangalore for Lakes said: “We are fortunate to have such a lake that is home to migratory birds in our neighbourhood. We must all come together and support the Lake Development Authority to develop rich flora and fauna as part of the Madiwala bio-diversity project that aims at bringing in a natural ambience of forest and lake while living in a city.”

Vidyashankar A, a resident of BTM Layout and member of the Madiwala Tank Lake Foundation, said that compared to last year, this time the response for the lake festival has been overwhelming.

“The lake has rich migratory life with pelicans visiting the waterbody from overseas in November, December, January and February, specially. The lake is well-maintained but still requires maintenance.”

Forest Range Officer Veeranna,  Assistant LDA Engineer Honnaiah were among others were present on the occasion. Previously, lake festivals were held at Kaikondrahalli, Puttenahalli, Madiwala, Chellakere, Allalasandra, Horamavu and Byrasandra.