Sadaramangala Lake

Whitefield

Sadaramangala

Veerandra Mishra

Radha Ramesh Reddy

Hoodi

Hariprasad AC

KLCDA

Jaganath Rao

Whitefield’s cherishedis the living-dying example of the ‘new Bengaluru’ greed. But even the ‘new Bengalureans’ inknow, as well as the old-timers, that this needs to stop.reportFor three-year-old Anvi, the day doesn’t begin without a glimpse of her favouriteLake. She has loved the sight of that lung space in Whitefield so much that it’s another reason why her parents worry about the lake’s future. In the last few years, the change has been dramatic, say locals. Encroachment and continuous drawing of water through illegal water tankers are threatening the lake’s very existence. While Whitefielders have been relentlessly fighting to save it, but the “nexus” between the land and water mafias may finish off this once-pristine lake, unless the government steps in, decisively.For one of Bengaluru’s biggest residential community, Prestige Shantiniketan, the lake has been an inevitable part of their neighbourhood. So the urgency in wanting to save it was evident in the way they spoke about it with BM on Sunday.“There’s hardly any water in it to even call it a lake,” says, who has lived in the neighbourhood for over eight years.According to him, the main reason for the current situation is the lack of demarcation of the buffer zone, which has in turn allowed unchecked encroachment. There’s no fencing or cordoning off of the zone.It is estimated that at least 4 acres have been encroached. Borewells on the lake bed have evidently come up with some lobbying between government authorities and private parties.“Water is being pumped out, round the clock, from this point. Tankers are continuously coming and going. How can someone have a borewell right on the lake bed? The watertable is so important, but the government is not doing anything,” he said.Another resident said: “Whatever water is left, stinks. There are multiple sewage lines directly dumping waste into the lake. The lake which is drying up is expected to get a boundary which is smaller than the actual 54 acres. Authorities are definitely hand in gloves with the mafia. Also, there are many buildings within the 75 m buffer zone.”says it’s painful for her to see what has become of the lake. “I was born and brought up here. There was so much greenery around and this lake was a real water source once. People from the Sadaramangala village would come here to swim. It was a beautiful place. Now there’s hardly any water in its 54 acres.”corporatorsaid: “There is a plan and people are working towards it. The Karnataka Lake Conservation and Development Authority () has sanctioned Rs 25 crores for it. This is the reason the water is being taken out. I am told a fence will also come up. We’ll look into the borewell on the lake bed.”Meanwhile, BBMP has decided to develop Sadaramangala Lake under Phase 1, at a cost of Rs 5 crore. The work is expected to begin on August 1 and may go on till the end of 2018. The first phase of the project will focus on sewage diversion, inlet and outlet construction, de-silting wetland bunds, strengthening of land, fencing and silt trap.“In phase 2, there will be construction of toilets, security zone, and other works,” said,, an executive engineer at the BBMP.