Articles by Arathi Manay Yajaman

If we think that with fencing the lake area to prevent further encroachment, planting trees and bushes and nurturing them, eliminating sewage, and getting more rain water into the lake, we have saved the lake, we're in for a surprise. That is just the beginning!     It was last August when a gentle green carpet started spreading itself over the dormant waters of Puttenahalli Lake. PNLIT trustees brought this to the notice of a few experts who said it could be a form of algae, and that the best way to get rid of it was to get more clean water…

If we think that with fencing the lake area to prevent further encroachment, planting trees and bushes and nurturing them, eliminating sewage, and getting more rain water into the lake, we have saved the lake, we're in for a surprise. That is just the beginning!     It was last August when a gentle green carpet started spreading itself over the dormant waters of Puttenahalli Lake. PNLIT trustees brought this to the notice of a few experts who said it could be a form of algae, and that the best way to get rid of it was to get more clean water…

Yelahanka Lake, covering 292 acres is one of the largest lakes in Bangalore, under the jurisdiction of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). Home to many birds, ornithologist Dr Subramanya recorded as many as 33 species during a one-hour visit to the lake in November 2012. About 14 acres of the lake was encroached by illegal buildings and hutments, but over the past year, in multiple operations, the BBMP has successfully evicted the encroachers, regained possession of the property, and is now looking to restore it.  Yelahanka Lake and the neighbouring Yelahanka Puttenahalli Lake To initiate the restoration, the BBMP…

Yelahanka Lake, covering 292 acres is one of the largest lakes in Bangalore, under the jurisdiction of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). Home to many birds, ornithologist Dr Subramanya recorded as many as 33 species during a one-hour visit to the lake in November 2012. About 14 acres of the lake was encroached by illegal buildings and hutments, but over the past year, in multiple operations, the BBMP has successfully evicted the encroachers, regained possession of the property, and is now looking to restore it.  Yelahanka Lake and the neighbouring Yelahanka Puttenahalli Lake To initiate the restoration, the BBMP…

Restoration work at the Munnekolala Lake in the AECS Layout near Marathahalli began about three months ago, but not before several months of pursuing the BBMP, the custodian of the lake, to save it. The AECS Layout actually has a set of three lakes, known to residents as the “Chinnappanahalli lakes”. The Munnekolala Lake, at 15.38 acres is the largest of them. The smaller 11.33 acre Chinnappanahalli Lake (located behind CMRIT College) was already restored by the BBMP in around 2010 and is currently being looked after by the Chinnappanahalli Lake Development Trust. The third lake, according to area residents…

Restoration work at the Munnekolala Lake in the AECS Layout near Marathahalli began about three months ago, but not before several months of pursuing the BBMP, the custodian of the lake, to save it. The AECS Layout actually has a set of three lakes, known to residents as the “Chinnappanahalli lakes”. The Munnekolala Lake, at 15.38 acres is the largest of them. The smaller 11.33 acre Chinnappanahalli Lake (located behind CMRIT College) was already restored by the BBMP in around 2010 and is currently being looked after by the Chinnappanahalli Lake Development Trust. The third lake, according to area residents…

Subramanyapura Uttarahalli Lake Improvement Trust (SUNLIT) is trying to clean up the Kalyani (temple tank) situated next to Vasanthapura Sai Baba Temple, Subramanyapura (South Bangalore).    ***** Phanisai Bharadwaj, Managing Trustee of SUNLIT invites citizens to join the effort...    Dear friends, Lake chains, not just lakes.Because of the valleys on which Bangalore is located, the lakes cascade naturally from higher elevation to lower elevation. As the lake on the higher elevation filled up, water would flow into the lower lakes. Bangalore has three main valley systems: Hebbal, Koramangala-Challaghatta, Vrishabhavati. The lakes thereby form a chain of reservoirs in each…

Subramanyapura Uttarahalli Lake Improvement Trust (SUNLIT) is trying to clean up the Kalyani (temple tank) situated next to Vasanthapura Sai Baba Temple, Subramanyapura (South Bangalore).    ***** Phanisai Bharadwaj, Managing Trustee of SUNLIT invites citizens to join the effort...    Dear friends, Lake chains, not just lakes.Because of the valleys on which Bangalore is located, the lakes cascade naturally from higher elevation to lower elevation. As the lake on the higher elevation filled up, water would flow into the lower lakes. Bangalore has three main valley systems: Hebbal, Koramangala-Challaghatta, Vrishabhavati. The lakes thereby form a chain of reservoirs in each…

With the Salvinia weed under control and a fair amount of water in Puttenahalli Lake, the ecosystem was slowly recovering. This was after the first heavy rains mid-May. Several bird species that were prominent by their absence in the earlier months were back in the lake waters, among them, a pair of Indian Spot-billed ducks (Anas poecilorhyncha).   The Spot-billed Duck likes freshwater lakes and marshes. It feeds by dabbling in shallow waters and marshland, mainly on plant food like seeds, grasses and aquatic vegetation. It also looks for aquatic insects and their larvae, snails and other molluscs, worms and other small creatures.…

With the Salvinia weed under control and a fair amount of water in Puttenahalli Lake, the ecosystem was slowly recovering. This was after the first heavy rains mid-May. Several bird species that were prominent by their absence in the earlier months were back in the lake waters, among them, a pair of Indian Spot-billed ducks (Anas poecilorhyncha).   The Spot-billed Duck likes freshwater lakes and marshes. It feeds by dabbling in shallow waters and marshland, mainly on plant food like seeds, grasses and aquatic vegetation. It also looks for aquatic insects and their larvae, snails and other molluscs, worms and other small creatures.…