Byrasandra Lake will be revived soon
Septuagenarian Venkata Subbarao, resident of RBI layout adjacent to Byrasandra lake at Jayanagar, who has been fighting for decades to save the water body, now sees some hope.
Published: 18th May 2017 05:28 AM | Last Updated: 18th May 2017 05:28 AM | A+A A-
Express had reported that the lake, which was replenished once, was on the verge of extinction | NAGARAJA GADEKAL
BENGALURU: Septuagenarian Venkata Subbarao, resident of RBI layout adjacent to Byrasandra lake at Jayanagar, who has been fighting for decades to save the water body, now sees some hope. After Express reported that the lake, which was revived once, was on the verge of extinction, officials of civic agencies are taking some action.
The lake, one of the oldest water bodies in the city, was revived in 2015, after a protracted legal battle by Subbarao, a retired RBI official. The lake was encroached and even parts of it were auctioned. However, Subbarao, after fighting in courts for 25 years, won the legal battle and it was handed over to the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA). But soon the condition of the lake was back to square one.
On April 27, Express had carried a report ‘How a thriving water body in Bengaluru died in less than two years’ which highlighted how the lake was decaying with no water and inflow of sewage from neighbouring slums and how it has become a place for open defecation.
Rao said soon after Express carried the report, BDA officials came to the lake for inspection. “Now, local councillor Gangalambika Mallikarjun has shown interest and, along with BBMP officials, work on diversion of sewage water is being done. The sewage water coming from slums are diverted to a manhole, thus preventing it flowing into the lake,’’ he said.
