BENGALURU: A group of volunteers have taken an initiative to clean up the Vibhutipura Lake, near Vinayak Nagar in east Bengaluru, which was once home to several migratory birds and flowering plants. The condition of the lake worsened, covered with water hyacinth, when the drainage from the neighbouring houses started flowing into it.
The volunteers from the NGO Bhumi took to cleaning it on every weekend, since November last year, and residents around the lake joined them. Chenthil Kumar, project co-ordinator, says, “The project unofficially started a year ago.
We were talking to the government officials and neighbours for some groundwork for a couple of months before we started the drive.”
A volunteer Sarjun Hajjathulla adds, “The lake can still be saved because the pollution is relatively recent, unlike the Varthur or Bellandur lakes.”
The team has collected 5,000 kg of garbage so far. “We dump it in one place and the BBMP comes and collects it the next day,” says Chenthil. “We collect about 15 kg of garbage every weekend.”
In Seven Phases
The project has been categorised into seven phases. Phase 1 is cleaning the shore area. “It includes removing all that is plastic,” says Chenthil. “But the people keep throwing in pieces again and again. We have approached HAL police and asked them to put up CCTV cameras in the area.
Phase two is laying five chambers in the sewage line so that it filters out all the dirt before it enters the lake. The fifth chamber will have plants such as vetiver.
These are plants that look like grass with roots penetrating up to four metres. They remove germs like bacteria and virus. People in Canada use this plant for purification.”
The phase 3 and 4 will be fixing the fences and establish a sewage treatment plant. Chenthil says, “Next weekend, we plan to get JCB to remove all the weeds. We received permission to do so from the joint commissioner of BBMP last week.”
A lake has wet and dry land. “The wetland forms one-third of the lake. We have constructed a bund with stones that separates the dry and wetlands of the lake,” he says.
Green Island with Hardy Plants
The team is also planning biodegradable toilets for the rural population near the area. They are also sowing seeds for greening the island area.
“We have already planted 12,” says Sarjun. “These plants need less water... The hope is that this lake does not turn to Varthur or Bellandur lakes. We are also doing door-to-door campaigns to create awareness about the importance of preserving the lake.”
The lake has only half a feet water now and the team hopes it will be filled once the monsoon arrives. “We are planning to complete the cleaning drive before the rains,” says Chenthil. “Hopefully, the entire water body will be cleaned by the end of the year.
We would like to hand over the lake to BBMP then. We are also planning to tie up with the tourism board so that they can start some activities like boating in the lake and that can help in maintaining the water body.”