BENGALURU: The pandemic has not deterred a group of senior citizens to continue their fight to save the city’s only sanctuary for birds which is now seeing a power plant coming up near a lake there. This group of 75-80-year-olds have put in their savings to restore and maintain the Yelahanka-Puttenahalli Lake and also take the matter to courts. Overcoming the Covid-19 scare, they are taking care of the lake maintenance and doing the litigation work.
The matter is coming up for hearing in the National Green Tribunal. They are opposing the transfer of custody of the lake from the forest department to the BBMP as also the power plant being set up.
In their efforts, they have been supported by residents, students and young volunteers from the Yelahanka area.
Spread over an area of 13.77 hectares, the lake is home to 120 bird species including migratory and endangered like Northern Pintail and White Stork, etc. The bird conservation reserve was notified in 2015. Forming the Yelahanka-Puttenahalli Lake and Bird Conservation Trust, they prepared a DPR along with LDA.
The trust comprising Dr K S Sangunni, Krishna Dutta, Prof Santanu Das and eight others has been working on the lake’s protection, restoration and rejuvenation. Experts like Dr S Subramanya, ornithologist, and Dr H N Chanakya, IISc, have provided help and guidance. When restoration was being done, a power plant just next to the lake was taken up, the trustees say.
The Trust has challenged the State government’s order (December 11, 2019) of transferring the bird reserve to BBMP in the high court where the matter is pending. They add, “The construction of the 350 MW gas-based combined cycle power plant just 500 m from the reserve has wreaked havoc on the lake habitat and people in the surrounding areas. The environmental clearance for the project was given by the State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority on September 1, 2015. This is being challenged in NGT and the hearing is on August 19.”
A Padmanabha, a trustee, says, “The heat, air, noise and light generated by the project has had a considerable effect on birds, especially their migration pattern. The high court dismissed our writ petition and upheld the environmental clearance given to the power plant. We filed an SLP in the Supreme Court which has remitted the matter to NGT. The SC has also set aside the observations of the HC on the merits of the case.”