BENGALURU: Three months after a surprise inspection by the Lokayukta, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has finally completed the rejuvenation of Doddanekundi Lake, spanning 114 acres. The initiative is part of a broader flood mitigation effort aimed at addressing the flooding of upstream areas like Basavanagar, Talacauvery Layout and Rajanna Colony.
On August 20, Lokayukta Justice BS Patil, accompanied by his two deputies visited Vibhuthipura and Doddanekundi lake. During the visit, he directed officials to accelerate the rejuvenation work, prevent sewage inflow, provide security room in the premises, install CCTV cameras and complete the ongoing plantation drive.
Doddanekundi Lake, which consists of a main water body, two islands and two sedimentation ponds, had long suffered pollution due to untreated sewage. The government had allocated a grant of Rs 15 crore under ‘Amruta Nagarothana’ scheme in 2021-2022 to address these issues and improve the lake’s condition.
Vijaykumar Haridas, Chief Engineer for Lakes, BBMP explained that the lake division of BBMP had taken up core items for rejuvenation and one of the primary objectives was to stop the flow of sewage into the lake. “This was achieved by constructing a diversion channel to redirect untreated waste water away from the water body.
In addition, BBMP removed encroachments around the lake and installed an outer body fence to prevent further illegal occupation.
To combat flooding in surrounding areas, the Palike also constructed inlets/silt traps to control water flow, while also desilting the lake bed to increase its storage capacity. Other infrastructure improvements included replacing old pipe culverts near weir, construction of flood mitigation gates (sluice), enhancement of waste weirs to better manage excess water,” he added.
Doddanekundi Lake had previously been under the custody of the Bangalore Development Authority and was handed over to the Palike only in 2019. During the BDA’s tenure, sewage continued to flow into the lake and the area’s flood mitigation infrastructure was inadequate, particularly the inlet culverts, which led to severe in the upstream catchment areas. “After the floods in 2021, the government decided to fix the issue and released a grant,” said Haridas.