Anekal

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Watch: Cops and rowdies join hands to revive dying lake in Bengaluru 00:51

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Photos: Police team cleans up a local lake, ensures it becomes the main source of water again 1 8 Team of cops take up lake; cleans it on Environment Day A team of 150 Bengaluru policemen associated with the rural district police decided to rejuvenate an extremely dirty lake by cleaning it. They were quite an enthusiastic team as they decided to get the lake rid of the trash such as waste: plastics, debris and weed. The lake is situated on five acres of land in Jigani Industrial area, near Electronics City, Bangalore. Photo by Kaushik JN/ BCCL Deputy determined to clean lake Deputy Superintendent SK Umesh was very eager towards this mission. “After deciding to clean the lake, me and my team learnt all the do’s and don’ts of cleaning the lake. We took the help of a few lake cleaning experts to understand how safely one should go forward in this task.” Photo by Kaushik JN/ BCCL Local lake's cleaning initiative The compassion of the policemen towards the initiative was evident as they worked very hard to clean the lake by themselves with the help of some of the workers. The drive was a part of their World Environment Day activity and they were successful in removing tonnes of waste with the help of excavators. Photo by Kaushik JN/ BCCL Restoring clean water on Environment Day The policemen had named their initiative and work as ‘Operation sunrise to sunset’. The lake used to be the main water source for the surrounding villages. Photo by Kaushik JN/ BCCL Beat Plastic Pollution A villager holds up a plastic bottle which was dug from the lake along with huge tonnes of plastic, weed and debris. This year’s theme on World Environment Day was ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’. Such non-bio-degradable waste ruins the ecological balance creating chaos within nature itself. Photo by Kaushik JN/ BCCL Police and excavators clean up dirty lake Construction machines- excavators were brought to the site for the work to be done easily and faster. They were successful in removing tones of waste from the 10-15 feet deep lake. Photo by Kaushik JN/ BCCL Police turns environment-friendly Deputy Superintendent SK Umesh says that they will do everything in their power to maintain the cleanliness of the lake. They will take the help ofindustrialists so that they can contribute to the lake’s overall development. The police also suggested that they will be putting up a fence around the lake to prevent people from treating the lake as a dumping ground and throwing all unnecessary and harmful waste into it. Photo by Kaushik JN/ BCCL

Bengaluru cops clean lake The Benagaluru Police team’s excellent action on keeping the environment clean is a very good initiative that they took up as a part of their activity on World Environment Day. The men in khaki turned into environmentalists for the day and were appreciated for taking up this project. The lake when cleaned, would again be the main source of water for the surrounding villages. Photo by Kaushik JN/ BCCL

Suresh, a history sheeter at thepolice station, is a local whose understanding of Harapanahalli Lake was a tremendous help for officialsA rowdy sheeter who helped the Anekal sub-division police clean and rejuvenate Harapanahalli Lake in Jigani Industrial Area nearnot only gave the water body a fresh lease of life, but also got one for himself. On World Environment Day last week, the police – as a token of gratitude for his significant help in the project – closed his rowdy sheet and allowed him make a living through fish farming in the lake. They’ve helped him get a fishing licence and also made him a caretaker-of-sorts of the lake.The rowdy sheeter, Suresh (30), is a resident of Anekal and came from a family of fishermen would once fished in the same Harapanahalli Lake. Suresh is said to have got intoand became notorious in the area, often assaulting passersby under the influence of alcohol. He has been involved in more than 10 cases of rioting, assault and other heinous crimes. The last crime he committed was around four years ago. It is said that he mellowed down after getting married.When officials decided to take up lake cleaning, they were scouting for locals or anyone who knew about the lake. This is when Suresh came forward and volunteered to help. Being a local and having grown up around this waterbody, he seemed to know the lake inside out. This knowledge and expertise turned out to be a big blessing for officials.“It would have been extremely difficult if Suresh had not volunteered,” said DySP SK Umesh, Anekal sub-division. “The cleaning would have stretched on for much longer if he had not shared his ideas. He knew the exact danger spots and cautioned us throughout. He would go into the lake first and only then let the policemen enter. He would swim and cut the weeds, tie them to a plastic pipe and the policemen would then haul it out to the bund. His efforts ensured that none of the policemen ever got hurt or bitten by snakes,” said Umesh.“Suresh is a rowdy sheeter of Anekal police station. His rowdy sheet has been closed as a token of gratitude. Since he was not active in any criminal activities for the last few years, we decided to close his history sheet. By allowing him to cultivate fish in the cleaned up Harapanahalli Lake, the department has tried to make a person with criminal records come into the mainstream of society and lead a normal life,” the DySP said.Besides, Suresh was once a fisherman. The police officials obtained permission from the localand got him a fishing licence. He has been entrusted to look after the lake and to maintain it. He will have to cultivate fish in the lake. Once there are enough, he has the permission to catch and sell them for a living. As the current police officers will eventually be transferred, it would be difficult for them to maintain the lake. And, so, Suresh has been entrusted to look after it as he is a localite.Suresh, meanwhile, told BM that he is grateful for being allowed to begin with a clean slate. “I thank the police department for giving me a fresh lease of life by closing my rowdy sheet and also allowing me to cultivate fish in the lake. The same lake was once our bread and butter as we would fish and make a living. Due to bad influence, I started scaring people. After my wedding and with my two small children, I was waiting for a chance to lead a normal life and the department has helped me,” said Suresh.