Madiwala Lake

BBMP

easing traffic

Central Silk Board junctions

Urban Development Department

Reclamation of 8,700 sq m fromcould deliver it a body blow astargetswoes for techies commuting from eCity to Bannerghatta RoadAproject to ease Bangalore's bursting vehicular traffic along the Electronics City to Bannerghatta Road route is all set to have a collateral damage — the pristine Madiwala Lake.With the daily commute from Electronics City towards Bannerghatta Road getting more distressing by the day for motorists (especially the techies), the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has decided to develop the service road adjacent to the Madiwala Lake into a 20-metre wide road to divert traffic away from the Silk Board junction and ease the chaos at BTM Layout and Jayadeva Hospital junctions.While the move would put a smile on the face of the much-hassled motorists, the flip side is that nearly 8,700 square metres of the water body would be reclaimed for construction of the 20 metre-wide (65 feet) road. The Lake Development Authority (LDA) and the forest department have given clearances for building the road along the lake's shore at a meeting held recently, copies of whose proceedings have been accessed by Bangalore Mirror.At present, techies travelling from Banashankari and J P Nagar towards Electronics City via Bannerghatta Road get stuck in major traffic snarls near Jayadeva Hospital, BTM Layout, andevery day in the morning, as well as on the return journey in the evening. They waste nearly 30 minutes during peak hours in the crawling traffic. Meghana Ram, a techie with Siemens and a resident of J P Nagar 6th Phase, said: “Our nightmare starts when we get off the elevated expressway. From driving at 80 kmph speed, we are forced to move only in first or second gear because of the various bottlenecks on the Outer Ring Road (ORR).”It was in this backdrop that the proposal to build a bypass road along the Madiwala Lake was mooted in February 2011. A request was made to the LDA in March 2013 to relinquish 8,624.60 sq m of the lake area for constructing the 20 metre-wide, and around 1-km long, road. But the proposal hit a road-block with the LDA refusing to accord sanction on grounds of environmental damage.The project, however, was revived on January 3 this year when district in-charge minister R Ramalinga Reddy and other elected representatives visited the spot and instructed officials to develop the road that would connect Hosur Road with BTM Layout, and ease traffic to Bannerghatta Road. The proposal was re-submitted to the Forest Department, stating that a 10.5-metre wide road would be constructed and the lake area required for it would be 2,838.61 sq m (including 1,053.41 sq m of private land).In a dramatic twist, officials of the Forest Department met on March 1 and gave concurrence to the BBMP to build a 20-metre wide road on the lake. The official panel set 10 conditions for the BBMP to execute the work and called for a detailed project report. A BBMP official said: “With everything cleared for take-off, we are now seeking the state government's permission to hand over the work to a project contractor. We are hopeful of commencing work shortly.”Accordingly, BBMP Commissioner M Lakshminarayana has written to theon April 5 seeking permission to direct PMJ Constructions, the lone bidder for the project, to take up the road construction. While the proposed bypass road will come as a welcome relief for motorists travelling from and towards Electronics City, sources in the government do not rule pressure from the real-estate lobby for encroaching into the lake.“There are several housing projects coming up near the lake and a good road will definitely push up the prices. Eating into the lake in the name of easing traffic pressure is something that has to be read between the lines,” an official said.In the meantime, green activists are fuming as the move would sound the death knell of the lake. “They could have constructed a flyover or any other engineering marvel to overcome traffic snarls instead of converting a water body into a road,” said an environmental activist (he did not want to be named as his team was weighing the pros and cons of the project).Of the original 937 lakes in Bangalore urban district, less than 200 are said to exist now. Even many of the existing lakes are nothing more than sewage pools. Here’s a status check on a few of the lost lakes:Sarakki Agrahara Lake J P Nagar 4th Phase Residential Locality Challaghatta Lake Karnataka Golf Association Nagashettihalli Lake RMV 2nd Stage Lake (2nd Block) Shule Tank Ashoknagar Football Stadium Sampangi Tank Kanteerava Stadium Koramangala Lake National Dairy Research Institute Kurubarahalli ​Lake Basaveshwaranagar Layout Kodihalli Lake New Thippasandra Gokula Tank Mathikere Hoskere Railway Residential Stockyard Ramshettypalya ​Kere Playground Parangipalya Lake HSR Layout Chennasandra Lake Pulla Reddy Layout