The story of a lake

The Puttenahalli Lake in JP Nagar, Bangalore, is an example of local residents’ interest and initiative in maintaining the environment, says Reshmi Chakraborty.

Purple Heron at Puttenahalli Lake

In 2008, if I looked out of my bedroom window, the view that caught my eye wasn’t the most promising one. Yes, there was a sunset that was rather glorious but there was also a slum, fast encroaching upon what used to be the 13-acre Puttenahalli lake at some point in the past but was at that time nothing more than a garbage and sewage dumping ground.

It’s December 2011 and the view has changed. The slum hasn’t vanished but the lake, unlike many that were filled up or simply encroached upon in Bangalore, hasn’t been lost either. In fact, it has been restored to its original glory, bordered by a paved walking path, trees, benches and even a gazebo.

Purple Moorhen

The best part are the birds all over and around it, from Coots to Cormorants to the reticent Purple Heron; the Little Grebe with its spot of colour, the Bronze winged Jacana and even the Garganey ducks that have migrated to the little lake in our backyard all the way from Europe this winter. What was once a dumpyard has now become a ‘nursery’ for birds of over 40 varieties!

The Beginning

Puttenahalli lake is an example of what citizen participation and interest could do for the environment. It was revived solely due to the efforts of some enterprising residents living nearby, especially its chief champion, writer Usha Rajagopalan and her fellow trustees at Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust (PNLIT).

“The sight of the lake dying was difficult to bear,” says Usha, who gets a clear view of the lake from her fifth floor apartment in the adjacent apartment complex. “I felt I should do something about it and not be a passive observer. Being new to the city, I didn’t know whom to approach but knew that with people’s backing it should be possible to get the civic administration to revive the lake.”

Usha Rajagopalan with Bhoja Shetty, retired Conservator of Forests next to the now lost Peepal tree

The Effort

So in 2008, Usha, along with a few residents in her apartment started campaigning to save the lake. It wasn’t a smooth ride. They started off with a signature campaign among the residents of her apartment complex, many of whom were unaware there was a lake in their backyard. She met the local MLA’s secretary with the lake’s photographs. “I got several promises in that first meeting but nothing concrete happened,” Usha recalls. About eight months later, I got to meet the MLA when he came to my apartment to canvass for the Lok Sabha elections. I reminded him about my correspondence again and was pleasantly surprised to see within a week that a fence was being created to stop encroachment around the lake,” she recalls.

The lake was finally included in BBMP’s (The Bangalore municipality) list of 23 lakes for revival through the efforts of one of Usha’s fellow campaigners. Residents of a neighbouring apartment complex joined hands and the Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust (PNLIT) was formed in June 2010 with Usha, Arathi Manay, Prasanna K. Vynatheya and O.P. Ramaswamy.

With BBMP’s help and largely through their own research and initiative, Usha and the others have planted more than 200 trees around the lake. There is a paved walkway, a gazebo and benches for people to sit. And there are the birds. Dashing across the water and circling the lake whenever you look at it.

The Lake Guardians

In May 2011, PNLIT scored a first as it was formally given the charge of maintaining the Puttenahalli Lake by BBMP, in one of the first instances of a citizens’ trust being given a lake for nurturing. Apart from planting tress, the trust has employed gardeners and sweepers to maintain the lake’s surroundings. They have also done waste segregation and composting. However, one of their biggest challenge remains in getting people involved with and aware of the Puttenahalli Lake. To this end, PNLIT has been involving the public through organising nature walks, gardening sessions and birdwatching sessions. For Usha, it has been a learning experience. “ What I didn’t anticipate was the need for us to

assume responsibility in maintaining the lake. That is a lesson we trustees learned very quickly after we planted the first round of tree saplings. Without educating people to respect the lake, all our effort would be wasted. This is why all our activities are aimed at involving people to participate in nurturing the lake.”

Today the lake is on the right track to improvement. It has also got many of us apartment dwellers re-interested in nature, giving us a chance to go for a walk in our backyard and spot the Garganey Ducks or Jacanas and guess how many years it would take for the Peepal saplings to grow into full-fledged trees. For my six-year-old son and many other children it has meant an interest in birds that wouldn’t have been possible living in an apartment. It has also turned several local residents into shutterbugs and keen birdwatchers as a look into the photo galleries of the PNLIT website will tell you. There are hurdles of course. Recently, a Peepal sapling that had grown exceptionally well in a year and had been planted by senior citizens in a specific spot to provide shade and attract birds, was thoughtlessly cut down by a local politician. There are still several residents in the area who have never set foot near the lake, repelled by the garbage and dirt that lies near one of the entrances, because of the settlements nearby. The bigger challenge is to teach people not to throw garbage into the water and to respect public spaces and resources, thinks Usha.

The Appeal

The biggest problem that PNLIT faces is of money. So far they have been surviving with individual donations but they have workers they need to pay and a lake to maintain. They have recently been nominated for the Mahindra Spark the Rise project. Each month, Sparks are invited in five different categories, and after screening, put up for public voting, which culminates in a grand prize of Rs. 40 lakh for the winner and Rs. 20 lakh each for three runners-up.

If you liked the work the tireless volunteers of PNLIT are doing, you can vote for Puttenahalli Lake through December. Here’s what Usha feels winning will do for them: “Emerging as the grand winner will be a dream come true. It will end our constant search for funds. It will erase the deep-rooted concern that the birds which have now begun to flock, nest and roost in our lake may be left to fend for themselves for want of appropriate support.”

It will also mean your chance to support a project that has actually been for the people, by the people. To vote for Puttenahalli Lake go to http://www.sparktherise.com/projectdetail.php?pid=5087

A Cormorant takes flight

Photo courtesy: Ram Manoj and Usha Rajagopalan