History holds clues to solving today's water shortage, say experts

A 9th-century inscription near Agara Lake describes maintenance methods.

Bengaluru: Going back in history could hold a solution to the water crisis the city is currently witnessing. This could also be a solution for the flash floods the city experiences every time there are heavy rains. 

Pointing out that the key to both these solutions is to restore the lake network and to rejuvenate them in the right way, historians quoted multiple inscriptions and literature that could guide the authorities and the citizens on Lake rejuvenation and management. 

For instance, the stone inscription from the 9th century that was found close to Agara lake details out how the lakes should be maintained and how desilting can be carried out in a traditional manner.

“There are a number of traditional methods that can help improve the lake’s water holding capacity and these inscriptions and a study of the history will help us get an idea of how the lakes network was planned in the city. This is crucial to ensure water management in the city,” said Harini Nagendra, a professor of Ecology at Azim Premji University and the author of ‘Nature in the city: Bengaluru in the past, present, and future’. 

A mention of various lakes have been found in at least 40 inscriptions across the city, said Udayakumar P L, founder and project director (Honorary) of the Bengaluru Inscriptions 3D Digital Conservation Project at Mythic Society. “While a few inscriptions describe the construction of lakes, a few others give details on their maintenance,” he said. 

Yet another inscription found close to Vibuthipura Lake described how the lakes were being constructed and how many of them not just helped in ensuring drinking water but also provided water for irrigation. 

Harini also pointed to multiple records from travellers during the 1800s and 1900s on the lake circuit in the city. 

“There have been many travellers like Francis Buchanan who visited Bengaluru in 1804 and documented the network of lakes in the city,” she said. 

She added that there was a mention of the city’s lakes back in the 1640s when Shivaji’s father summoned the court poet to give a description of the city. 

The city also has numerous maps from the British times that mark out the extent of lakes and going back to these revenue maps will help mark the encroachment along with the extent of wetlands and storm water drains that connect these, experts said.