BDA steps in to guard Somasundarapalya lake

A day after hundreds of residents held a walkathon to highlight the plight of Somasundarapalya lake in HSR Layout, the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) has woken up to the crisis and initiated action to guard the lake.

The lake was being taken over slowly by vested interests who dumped construction debris in the lake bed and later flattened it out to claim land. As a result, the lake bed now has houses, temples and even a mud roads leading into it.

On Sunday, irate residents were promised action by the MLA, Sathish Reddy who promised to fence the lake from his own funds if the BDA did not take action.

“The order to provide security has been given and there will be a four person strong security net around the lake. They will work in two day shifts of one guard each and one night shift with two guards,” confirmed T Sham Bhat, Commissioner BDA.

Other officials added that the issue of fencing the lake would be taken up at top priority. “There is some issue with the boundaries, we have asked the tahsildar to provide us with the details. Once this is complied with, we shall fence the lake. Guards are already in place to prevent dumping,” confirmed a senior official of BDA. He added that the encroachments would be removed once the fencing work began.

According to the official, the entire process of fencing the lake would take a month from the time work began.

However according to residents, there were no guards posted at the lake on Monday evening. “These promises have been made before as well. We shall believe them only once we see work happening,” said a resident who did not want to be named. The residents had given a deadline of October 20 to the BDA on Sunday.

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The New Indian Express
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