Mini-Niagara Falls at Lalbagh attracts crowd

Trials of a mini-Niagra Falls at the Lalbagh Botanical Garden is attracting a large number of people.

"This is the first time in the state that the waterfall has been created on a lakebed to recycle stagnant water," D N Ravishankar, advisory committee member, Lalbagh, and the brain behind the waterfalls told DH.

He said the trials are going on for the past two days. The aim of the waterfall, apart from adding beauty, is to purify the lake water.

"We have used engineering technology in an eco-friendly manner. The lake water is recycled using a 240hp pump set," Ravishankar said.

Around 2.5 lakh litres of water will be pumped for one hour to make the waterfall. There is a bridge which divides the lake into a small and big one. The 10-metre high natural quarry wall is being used as the waterfall structure. So the water from the big lake will flow into the small one, he explained.

The small lake houses floating plants like the lotus. It also has algae. The structure has been designed in such a manner that sunlight does not fall on the small lake. So in the absence of the sunlight, the algae will not bloom. In this way, without using chemicals, engineering and natural methods have been combined to purify the lake water, Ravishankar added.

The lake receives the downstream flowing stormwater from residential areas of Jayanagar and surrounding places. The treated sewage water which the Lalbagh receives is used for gardening and beautification of the park.

Just for two hours

An official from the horticulture department said the waterfall will not function round the clock. It will run for one or two hours each in the morning and evening at a fixed time. The timings will be announced so that visitors are not disappointed, the officer said.