BENGALURU: The 26-acre Choodasandra Lake has been restored, increasing its water retention capacity from 84 million litres to 150 million and improving its water quality and biodiversity. It is estimated to benefit 3,000 households.
The lake has been cleared of encroachments and weeds, while the deterioration of water quality has been stemmed by diverting sewage water, creating a wetland and planting indigenous plants like nymphaea and colocasia.
To revive biodiversity, the lake was desilted and native species of saplings were planted. Bunds, sluice gates and a kalyani were also constructed.
The project was taken up under the CSR initiative of Bosch Global Software Technologies (BGSW) and NGO SayTrees.
“The return of bird species like ashy woodswallow is a strong indicator of ecological recovery, underscoring the success of restoration efforts,” said Dr Rajkamal Goswami, an ecologist from the Choodasandra Lake Restoration Monitoring & Evaluation team. The project took a holistic approach for sustainable and long-term impact, addressing the ecological, infrastructural and community needs of the lake, a press note stated.
SayTree founder Kapil Sharma hoped that this serves as a model for other urban water body restoration projects.