13.12.21

Bengaluru: Six lakes will get a new life by Dec-end

Rejuvenation work on six lakes coming under BBMP — costing over Rs 16 crore — is likely to be completed by the end of this month. The work mostly includes deepening of lakes, creating diversion drains, forming bund, fencing, inlet and outlet work, and pathway formation.

The maximum amount — Rs 4.5 crore — is being spent on Doddakallasandra lake, followed by Gubbala lake (Rs 3.6 crore) and Chunchaghatta lake (Rs 2.7 crore). Rejuvenation of three other lakes — Yelenahalli, Konappana Agrahara and Chikkabasti— costs Rs 1.8 crore each.

Lake expert V Ramprasadsaid: “Deepening of a lake means to take it back to its original water-holding capacity. They can’t deepen the lake further than its original capacity. This work is important as lakes are seen as flood-mitigation zones and play a key role when the city receives heavy rain.”

There are 202 lakes under BBMP. Of these, 183 are live lakes and 19 categorised as disused or dead. Eighty-five of the 183 live lakes have been developed with the help of grants from the government and BBMP.

Development work is in progress on 35 lakes and tenders are yet to be called for 63. BBMP special commissioner (lakes) Shankar Reddy B said: “The process of rejuvenation of any lake starts with a survey to mark encroachments and then storm-water drains. Once the problem of encroachment, SWDs and sewage entering the lake is managed, the process becomes easy.”

Over Rs 317 crore has been allocated under the CM Nava Nagarothana grants in the past two years, of which Rs 33 crore has been used by BBMP to develop 13 STPs (sewage treatment plants) near the lakes to maintain water balance during non-rainy seasons.

Vijay Kumar, BBMP superintendent engineer for lakes, said, “Small works will be over by the end of this month. The pathway work was delayed by rain. That too shall be done by December-end.”

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