Bengaluru's Iblur lake regains lost beauty

Work on the rejuvenation of the Iblur lake has been completed and people are waiting for the rains, so that the lake gets filled with water.
The Iblur lake will get water from three sources –rain, the newly-built storm water drains along ORR and a sewage treatment plant.
The Iblur lake will get water from three sources –rain, the newly-built storm water drains along ORR and a sewage treatment plant.

BENGALURU: After nine long years, Iblur lake has finally got a facelift. Residents of the area are elated to see the efforts put in by Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) in restoring the lake at a cost of Rs 3 crore.

Work on the rejuvenation of the lake, which started in 2017, has been completed now, and people are waiting for the rains, so that the lake gets filled with water.

“An underground diversion channel was built to divert the sewage line. After that, it took around six months just to have the sewage cleaned up in the lake. The BBMP team did a great job,” Naresh Sadasivan, a trustee of the citizens’ group, Iblur Environs Trust (IbEnT), which worked on the lake’s revival, said.

The lake bund was flattened and levelled, and bund walls have been constructed. A walking or jogging pathway has also been made, and new fencing installed along the sides. More than 300 trees have been planted on the periphery. The lake will get water from three sources –rain, the newly-built storm water drains along ORR and a sewage treatment plant (STP). 

BBMP, through CSR funds, is also building rooms for security guards, and toilet and drinking water facilities for visitors. Construction of the STP will be done in the next three months.

IbENT members are planning to create a botanical garden, which will house different plants. “It will help add more greenery, and many birds and butterflies will be attracted to the place,” Sadasivan said. 

The lake was reduced to a bad state in 2010 when the Iblur flyover project began. Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) had buried a sewage line, calling it a storm water drain across the Outer Ring Road (ORR) stretch.

As a result, sewage started entering the water body, converting it into a stinking pool. Also, some parts of the lake were encroached upon while another portion was taken for ORR, reducing its area from 18 acres to 10 acres.

That’s when IbEnT came forward to get the lake revived. They followed up with BDA regularly, asking officials to take up work such as fencing the lake. While the fence was erected, BDA did not bother to do anything about the cesspool.

In 2016, IbEnT approached the BBMP Lakes team and the government to shift the management of the lake from BDA to BBMP. After regular follow-ups, the lake was finally handed over to BBMP.

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