16th July 2015 - Save the date

We are delighted to tell you that PNLIT will be receiving the  शहर GREEN करो - It's Our Turn to Lead Award at a special function at the Puttenahalli Lake premises on 16th July 2015, 11:00 a.m. onwards. The Chief Guest is Mrs. Karuna Singh, Country Director of Earth Day Network India, the organizers of the contest. 

The contest was held in 45 Indian cities to commemorate the 45th anniversary of Earth Day and six winners were announced in May. The Jury found merit in our entry on the pre-monsoon cleaning of the lake bed by volunteers on 28th March 2015, most of whom live in the neighbourhood. Sincere thanks to each one of them for the great vigour and enthusiasm with which they had picked trash from the lake bed. Pictures of the event are below. 

More than in the previous years, this cleaning drive was important because it may have been for the last time that we were able to do this. Puttenahalli Lake no longer needs to rely on the monsoon to fill up. From 17th May 2015, treated waste water from the Sewage Treatment Plant at South City has been flowing into the lake. Within a year, we hope our dream of seeing it filled to the optimum will become a reality and even more birds will flock to the lake. 

After their inspection of the STP, the Upa Lokayukta Hon'ble Justice Sri Subhash B. Adi and Dr. Vaman Acharya, Chairman, KSPCB visited the lake and met our volunteers. Their presence boosted our morale no end and made the day a memorable one for us. 

Our sincere thanks to KSPCB for giving the necessary permission and for sponsoring the lake cleaning drive. With infrastructural support from BBMP and donations from our well wishers, PNLIT has been maintaining the lake from May 2011. It is still a work in progress and we have a long way to go but awards like the one we will be proud to receive on 16th July encourage our endeavour. 

We look forward to sharing this moment with you. Do please attend. A line to confirm your attendance will be most welcome. 

Best regards

Usha for the PNLIT Team

Milestone morning

Date: 17th May 2015
Venue: In front of the South City Sewage Treatment Plant (STP)
Time: 9:45 a.m. onwards

Some 40 people - South City assn (SUGRUHA) Management Committee, members and staff, PNLIT trustees, BBMP and KSPCB officials, residents from the neighbourhood were waiting eagerly. It was a very special day not just for them but indeed also for the city of Bangalore.

The much awaited day

A milestone was set that morning when at 10:30 a.m., Dr Vaman Acharya, Chairman of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) released excess treated water from the STP at South City to the Puttenahalli Lake. For the first time in the city, treated sewage from the STP of an apartment complex was let into a lake.

KSPCB gave the go ahead for this unique project, run as a pilot, for several reasons - the fact that the STP at South City is maintained well; that the treated water meets urban reuse parameters set by the board, and that PNLIT have shown their commitment to the welfare of the lake. Thus PNLIT, the first citizens' group in the city to become official custodians of a lake and a model for other lakes has initiated another new trend of filling a lake. BBMP, the "owner" of Puttenahalli Lake is the third partner in this arrangement.

Visitors going towards the STP 

South City STP was designed to treat about 8 lakh ltrs of sewage water every day. Of this, 4 lakh litres/day was used within the community, for toilet flushing and for the garden. The rest was being pumped into the Arekere Under Ground Drainage (UGD). Not only did this mean running costs for the pump but good treated water had to be let into the UGD along with raw sewage. At the same time, monsoon dependent Puttenahalli Lake would dry up every summer leading to loss of fish and depriving birds of their habitat. Discharging the excess treated water into the lake meant that both problems could be solved in one stroke.

Henceforth the lake will get water throughout the year while South City community saves on the pumping cost and can feel justifiably proud of doing their bit for Nature. To ensure water quality, KSPCB has agreed to install a sensor which will send an online monitoring report. On successful completion of the trial, it can be replicated with other apartment complexes and their neighbouring lakes.

Tanks

In his speech, Dr Acharya was all praise for the three different parties that made such a feat possible - BBMP, South City and PNLIT. Only with such participation and public vigilance, he said, is it possible to protect lakes.

Mr Raffi, resident owner, South City, briefed the gathering about how the capacity of the STP was increased from 8 lakh litres/day to nearly 11 lakh litres/day. This was made possible by modifying the plant as suggested by KSPCB. It led to substantial saving in modification cost as well.

Mr Raffi explaining the system

How the system works

With the crowd clapping and cheering, Dr Acharya opened the valve and let the treated water flow from the chamber along the pipe. Everyone set off to see the water fall into the lake. It fell into the deep silt trap in a clear stream and began to overflow into the wetland. More cheers followed and guesses about how long it would take for the lake to fill to the brim. With an average inflow of 6 lakh litres/day, discounting evaporation from surface, it would take about 10 months to a year for the 10 acre Puttenahalli Lake to brim over.

Opening the valve

Let the water flow!

Chamber with treated water

At the lake, water flows and overflows

The crowd dispersed with big happy smiles but for South City residents, it was a morning tinged with deep sorrow about the untimely demise of their Property Manager Mr Manjunath on 8th May. He had worked tirelessly for the past several months to ensure that the modification to the plant was carried out on time and everything set in order to facilitate the release of the treated water into the lake. It all went as per plan except that he was not present to see this event take place. RIP, Mr Manjunath.

Missing Mr Manjunath at South City

- Sapana Rawat, Resident of South City
Pics: Nirupama Sriram

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Update - 23rd May 2015

A week is too short to say how much the level has increased. However, the formation of small pools within the wetland and just beyond in the lake bed are encouraging signs as also the sight of birds returning to the lake. Early this morning, our birder Madhurima sent an excited sms after spotting a Black-crowned Night Heron. It was last seen on 4th September last year. Thanks to the rain, the level is generally better and the Coots are having fun chasing each other! - Usha Rajagopalan, Pics: Madhurima Das

Black-crowned Night Heron

Eurasian Coots

Invitation for the inauguration of the treated water pipeline from South City STP to Puttenahalli Lake

PNLIT is delighted to announce that a long cherished dream of seeing our neighbourhood Puttenahalli Lake brim with water will soon be a reality! 

The Chairman, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, Dr. Vaman Acharya will be formally inaugurating the pipeline to supply surplus treated water from the Sewage Treatment Plant of South City apartments (Arekere Mico Layout) to the Puttenahalli Lake tomorrow, Sunday 17th May at 10:00 a.m. 

After the pipeline was laid, a trial to check for any leakages was done earlier this month, and it seems that all is fine. We are truly grateful to the South City Management Committee and to the residents for helping us revive and replenish Puttenahalli Lake. On an average we can expect a discharge of 4 to 8 lakh litres of water every day. The treated water meets the parameters set by the KSPCB for urban reuse and will not harm the aquatic lives that the lake supports. 

                             Water chamber at STP                              Pipeline from STP

                        Left pipeline leads to the lake                   Water falls into the silt trap

Water flows into the lake, Trial 3-May-2015

It is for the first time that treated water from an apartment complex will be used to fill a lake in the city. More about this project can be read about in an earlier post here. 

Please be a part of this milestone moment for PNLIT and the lake, by first joining us at the STP in South City at 9:45 a.m. tomorrow, and after this at the lake.

With hope in our hearts

The PNLIT Team

PNLIT is a winner in Earth Day Network's शहर GREEN करो Contest

PNLIT is happy to inform you that we are one of the winners of Earth Day Network-India's शहर GREEN करो - It’s Our Turn to Lead Contest. The result was announced today. The other winners are from Kozhikode, Mumbai, Srinagar, Raipur and Varanasi and can be seen on the Earth Day Network website here. Details about PNLIT's entry can be seen on the Green Cities India Facebook page here.

To commemorate the 45th anniversary of Earth Day (celebrated on 22nd April) this year, Earth Day Network-India, in February, had called for entries from 45 cities on how to make their cities "Swachh" and "Green". Each of the contestants had to register with a specific task and accomplish the goal within 45 days. PNLIT's entry was on the pre-monsoon lake cleaning drive we had organized on 28th March. This particular cleaning drive had been sponsored by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) and the event was attended by the KSPCB Chairman, Dr. Vaman Acharya. Another dignitary who accepted our invitation to visit the lake that day was the Upa Lokayukta, Hon'ble Justice Sri Subhash B. Adi. It was truly special for us to welcome these guests as it was to see our volunteers picking up plastic and other trash scattered on the lake bed with vigour and enthusiasm. 

Heartfelt thanks to all our well-wishers, for the unstinting support to Puttenahalli Lake and to PNLIT! 

Making the dream of a water-filled lake a reality

There has been much excitement at Puttenahalli Lake, JP Nagar this past week. With the onset of summer, there is not much water in the lake but it is expected that this will not be for long. PNLIT's "get water in the lake" project is closing in on another milestone.    

A couple of years ago, a diversion channel to let storm water into the lake was completed by the BBMP. Apart from harvesting rain water, this move proved to be important in preventing the flooding of low-lying areas near the lake. Though the water level in the lake did rise during the monsoons, it was evident that this storm water would not be adequate.    

One of the questions often raised by visitors to the lake has been "Why is there so little water in the lake?" Last year, around the same time, I had written a post about summer lakes which can be read here. The option of letting treated water from a neighbourhood sewage treatment plant (STP) into the lake seemed to be a viable one, provided the quality of the water met the required standards. The L&T-built South City apartment complex that is located very close to the lake has a functional STP, so we approached the association to explore the possibility of getting its treated water, and have been treading cautiously. After painstakingly arresting any sewage flow into the lake over the past few years, the last thing we would want is a lake full of muck! Better less water than sewage water.  

Now coming back to the excitement at the lake. On 28th March 2015, the Chairman of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), Dr Acharya, visited the lake for a cleaning drive that had been jointly organised by KSPCB, BBMP, SUGRUHA (South City association) and PNLIT. Upa Lokayukta Justice Adi and BBMP Chief Engineer (Lakes) Mr BV Satish were also present. Volunteers from the neighbourhood, young and old spent their morning in clearing the lake bed and bund. Saplings of trees that can grow in water were planted in the lake bed, and poles to serve as bird perches were also fixed. 

 Pic: KSPCB

Pic: Sanchayan Nath

More pictures can be seen here and in the linked reports.     

During this visit, the KSPCB Chairman Dr Acharya also inspected the STP at the South City apartment complex. After several months of work, the water from the STP had finally passed the quality standards. PNLIT trustees and South City representatives had met with Dr Acharya a few weeks ago to seek permission to release the treated water into the lake. After this visit, he was satisfied. Oral permission has been granted while written permission is awaited. This means that excess water from the STP instead of being fed into the underground drainage system can be let into the lake. At least 400 kilo litres per day! The connection pipe between the lake and South City's STP needs to be laid. Once this is done and a water monitoring system is installed, the lake will be ready to receive the treated water. The water quality will be closely monitored. A picture of a lake full of water is already taking shape in everyone's minds. People are waiting to see it!             

The conditions under which KSPCB has decided to let a private apartment's STP outflow into a public lake on a trial basis, the efforts involved and photographs can be seen in various related reports: 
KSPCB blog 
Bangalore Mirror 
Deccan Herald 
DNA online 
The New Indian Express.