BENGALURU: A harsh cloudless summer is taking its toll of the city’s water bodies, which give life to urban flora and fauna.
Ullal Lake in Kengeri, spread across 29 acres, has an island which is a habitat for peafowl and mongoose. The lake has gone completely dry, except for a few patches where sewage from a diversion line has leaked. Similarly, Uttarahalli Lake has also gone dry due to summer. In West Bengaluru, the iconic man-made Sankey Tank is also drying up.
DS Gowda, president of Sir M Visvesvaraya Layout Welfare Association, stated that this has been the condition for the past year. Ullal Lake is connected with a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP), but during summer, there is no water. “We have written to officials to fix the issue of STP and release water to keep the lake filled with water, as dozens of peafowl here are dependent on the lake,” said Gowda.
Similarly, the 37-acre Sankey Tank is almost dry, and this has caused concern among regular walkers and residents in the surrounding area.
Geetha, Executive Engineer, Lakes, Bengaluru West City Corporation, stated that Ullal Lake gets water from the STP in Mallathalli, but due to upgradation, the lake is dry. “The STP is of 5MLD capacity, and in six months, the capacity will be upgraded to 10MLD. Once this is done, the lake will have sufficient water round the year,” she said.
On Sankey Tank, she said, “Two big trees located near the waste weir and their roots must have caused damage and resulted in leakage. We will check and fix it,” she added.
In South City Corporation, the 15-acre Uttarahalli Lake with an island is also dry, and walkers have appealed to the civic body to connect the lake with an STP for the release of treated water. Officials said the lake dried up due to extreme heat and is only dependent on rainwater from stormwater drains.