End of the year greetings from PNLIT

We wish you all a wonderful holiday season and a great new year. 

We wish ourselves the same too! For, truth be told, 2023 was a period of endless challenges for us at PNLIT.  Puttenahalli Puttakere sailed through the year but we had to fight hard to protect it, help it thrive. Officers changed and we had to brief them on what we'd had done, build rapport with them. They changed once again and the cycle started once again. In short, 2023 was a test of endurance!

We did overcome a few challenges such as getting our FCRA certificate renewed two years and six months after submitting it for renewal. Arathi can rightly pat herself on her back for this achievement. 

Usha continued the struggle to protect the lake from encroachment. Just when the light seemed to glimmer, the tunnel grew longer. The High Court had ordered eviction of the encroachers in July 2022. As soon as they got the notice, they obtained a stay order. On behalf of PNLIT, she filed an IA to implead in the writ and place the facts before the court. The Judge rejected the IA in Oct 2023 because, in his opinion, 'the Trust would not be a necessary party to the proceedings' as the petition was 'only for a mandamus for rehabilitation of the petitioners who are alleged encroachers by way of allotment of sites, so that they could vacate the encroachment.' 

Who's going to allot the sites? When? Two questions for which the answers have been wrapped in layers of uncertainty from 2019.

The many crises through the year brought OP Ramaswamy out of his semi-retirement to avert what would have led to the termination of two of our gardeners. Without Ramu, Jayanna, Seena and Soma, we wouldn't have been able to maintain the lake. Ramu has been with us since 2013! 

Nupur put an end to our vacillation on whether to revamp our website or go with a new one. With tech help from her husband Pranshu and text assistance from Usha, she launched a colourful https://www.puttenahallilake.in/  rich in photos and comprehensive in contents in June 2023. 

Our garden expert Sangita was luckier this year with the mealy bugs and borers and other pests lying low. The trees, shrubs and climbers are growing so lush and thick. 

But for Divya's meticulous updating of our timeline, scrapbook of newspaper clippings, and quarterly reports, we would have forgotten half of what we had done in 2023!  Time flies not only when one is having fun but also when crossing hurdles!

Our treasurer, Nandhini, is the one to thank for the receipts to your donations. Give her more work. Donations (and volunteer support) are how you can help our Puttenahalli Puttakere. 

Our core volunteers deserve special mention - Vijayalakshmi Kutty, editor, Ripples and Sapana Rawat, events coordinator. They are irreplaceable. Jayashree Govind is a welcome addition to the editorial team! 

Nurturing a public space like a lake is always going to be difficult. Our prayer for the new year is for less stress with old issues and more strength to tackle fresh ones. Together let's preserve and protect our little neighbourhood lake. 

With best wishes to you and your family,

PNLIT team 

Usha Rajagopalan, Chairperson

Arathi Manay, Managing Trustee

Nandhini Sriraaman, Treasurer

Nupur Jain, Joint Managing Trustee

OP Ramaswamy, Trustee

Sangita Agrawal, Trustee

Divya Shetty, Trustee

Video credit: Satvik Sankar, age 13  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlpW2CHbsro

Looking back at 2022 with gratitude

As we step into the new year, we look back gratefully at the moments that gave us not only so much joy but also the strength to face the challenges that are inevitable when nurturing a public space like an urban lake! 

Glimpses of 2022 (Photos by well-wishers; slideshow by Pranshu and Nupur Jain)

March lifted our spirits with the Flame of the Forest flowering for the first time. We had planted this tree in July 2010 and had watched it grow, its trunk twisted and full of big leaves. We wondered if it would flower at all when we spotted a flower petal lying on the walking track and looked up to see one bunch of reddish orange flowers! It bore only a few more bunches but we are excited to see how it will fare this coming summer!

Again in March, a mother duck waddled out of the shrubs and into the water followed by eight fluffy ducklings! 

At the same time, a Brahminy kite chick learned to fly high on the tree on the island. We watched it hop tentatively from branch to branch, fluttering its wings and growing more confident and stronger by the day. 

On 5th June, together with Indian Music Experience and Karnataka State Legal Services Authority, we celebrated World Environment Day and PNLIT’s 12th anniversary. Samuel John's documentary ‘Puttenahalli Lake Alive On Land Under Water’ had everyone spellbound. We had to pinch ourselves to remember that the lake had been reclaimed from sewage influx only a year ago. The musical tribute to nature by national award winning singer and composer, Bindhumalini Narayanaswamy was mesmerising and swept us all away into another realm.

Our biggest challenge remains protecting the lake from encroachment about which we had sent you a detailed email earlier this month. Suffice it to say that the direction of the Hon'ble High Court to remove the encroachment issued on 15th July is yet to be carried out by the authorities. We hope they will do so at least in the coming months. 

As always, we look forward to your continued support. 

We wish you and your loved ones a great new year. May you too draw happiness and strength from the small pleasures of life and nature.

Best wishes

PNLIT team  

As we leave the year behind

If ever there was a year that the world would like to forget, it would be 2020, truly an annus horribilis. This was also the year that taught us to be grateful to all those who have been risking their own lives so that the rest of us may remain safe and protected in the pandemic. Our deepest gratitude to every single one of these unsung stars.

Match stick plant (Aechmea gamosephala)

At such a time it doesn't seem quite right to share a progress card for the year, as it were, of our lake. And yet, we hope this mail will bring a little bit of cheer to you. 

PNLIT crossed a threshold in June 2020 by completing 10 years of dedicated care of our Puttenahalli Lake. It is this commitment that made us go all out to stop sewage from killing the lake.

The sewage inflow which began as an occasional trickle, became a regular gush from March 2018. It was finally plugged by BWSSB on 29 July 2020. BBMP had been waiting in the wings to begin damage control. However, every time they began, they were thwarted by the rain. Such a prolonged monsoon did we have this year! It may be a cliche but there is truth in the saying 'Man proposes and God disposes.' When it finally stopped raining, BBMP began work in mid-December and are likely to take a good three months to finish. This makeover will give the lake, and us, a fresh start. 

We ask for no miracles in 2021 but pray for good health, cheer and happier times for all.

Greetings for the new year. 

PNLIT Team 

As We Ring Out The Old And Ring In The New

2019. A roller coaster year. A year that we will not be able to forget easily. 

In March the Hon’ble High Court disposed of the writ petition filed by the encroachers living on our lake bund. The responsibility of rehabilitating them fell on the three respondents - Principal Secretary (Revenue), the Deputy Commissioner (Urban) and the Karnataka State Slum Development Board. The matter is yet to be resolved.

In April we installed our Fountain of Joy,  our “retirement gift” to Mr. B.V. Satish Chief Engineer, BBMP (Lakes) for his constant support and encouragement not only to PNLIT but to all fellow lake groups in the city. We were delighted that Dr. Vaman Acharya, ex-chairman KSPCB, graced the occasion. It was thanks to both of them that we are able to feed the lake with excess treated water from South City apartment complex.

In June we suffered a massive setback when residents in the adjoining layout opened the underground drain and let in the raw sewage directly into the lake. We had to go all out and seek help from everyone –BWSSB, BBMP, KSPCB, NGT Committee. BWSSB began replacing the underground drain but had to give up because a few illegal houses on the lake bund came in the way. The onus of making alternate arrangement shifted to BBMP. The uncertainty ended on 30 December when BBMP got their contractor to begin work. What a wonderful way to end the year - on a note of hope! 

2019. We had to do far more  to protect the lake this year than in the past. Our routine work did not cease. Here’s a quick recap of our highlights of 2019.

Flora and Fauna   On 27 February we put up two bird nesting boxes thanks to Mr. Uday Kumar, a birder and conservationist. We initiated a project on 5 May to create two bird hotspots with a grant from the Duleep Mathai Nature Conservation Trust, Anand, Gujarat. Dr. Kaustubh Rau led a nature walk on 20 January and Mr. Ajay Salanky conducted a nature photography workshop on 24 August. In association with Axis Bank, we printed a Puttenahalli Lake flora and fauna chart. In spite of the poor condition of the lake,  Dr. S. Subramanya, the well known ornithologist, spotted as many as 23 species of birds on 24 October. This boosted our morale!

Talks and presentations On 11 January 2019,  PNLIT Chairperson, Usha Rajagopalan, shared the Puttenahalli Lake experience at a workshop organised by Sensing Local together with Biome, Varthur Rising and Whitefield Rising to discuss and design the wetland for Varthur lake. On 22 March she gave a talk at an event held at Madivala Lake to celebrate World Water Day. On 16 July, she made a presentation at the Bangalore International Centre as a part of BBMP's submission for World Design City 2020, through the design firm Icarus.

Nupur Jain was a panellist at the Talking Earth's Future Cities Conference on 17 February. The topic of discussion was "Are Lake reviving efforts fruitful”?  PNLIT volunteer Vishnupriya Hathwar gave a presentation “Community Participation in Conservation – Case Study on the revival of Puttenahalli Lake at the National Seminar on Climate Change organized by EMPRI on 21 February.

Community based activities On 13 February, PNLIT held its first Citizen Science Programme in collaboration with Earth Watch Institute India and IISc.  which began with a nature walk led by Mr. J N Prasad.  Dr. Sonali Sathaye conducted a theatre workshop for children on 24 February with games, observation techniques, body movements and vocal exercises. We celebrated International literacy Day on 7 September with Ms. Vijaya Balasubramaniam and Dr. Sonali Sathaye conducting a lively story telling session. PNLIT printed bookmarks and desk top calendars with photographs taken by women photographers in the neighbourhood.

Welcoming Visitors The number of birds may be dropped because of the sewage but a large number of school and college students from the city and abroad visited our lake round the year. They included children from the Puttenahalli Government School and from Snehadhara Foundation; students from Dayanand Sagar Engineering College, Ramaiah College of Architecture, Griffith University, Australia, and from the Technical University, Braunschweig, Germany. 

On 26 April and 10 May, members of the Earthwatch Institute India, IISc and HSBC visited the lake as part of their sustainability Training Programme.  On 27 November, Jennifer Wightman, research scientist and artist from New York, USA, took soil samples from our lake and from several others to create an art work for an exhibition at the Bangalore International Centre.

Corporate Volunteers Volunteers from Cisco and VMware have come regularly to the lake to rake, prune, and manure, plant, and trim, de-weed and clean, to add to the aesthetics and cleanliness of the lake premises. 

Fun Family Gardening Day    The first Saturday of the month continues to be reserved for children and adults from the neighbourhood to exercise their green thumb at the lake.

Upgrading infrastructure With the number of visitors increasing, PNLIT installed 11 new benches along the walkway on 6 March.

A few hours are left for the new year to begin. We look forward to BBMP and BWSSB protecting our lake from pollutants. We look forward to birds returning and nesting. We look forward to you and our neighbourhood rallying to nurture the lake. We look forward to completing a decade in June 2020 as citizen custodians of Puttenahalli Puttakere!  

With heartfelt thanks for your support and endorsement in our journey.

We wish you and your family a very Happy New Year!

PNLIT Team

Compiled by Ms. Vijayalakshmi Kutty, Editor, "Ripples" the PNLIT Newsletter. 

The Year That Was - PNLIT Highlights of 2018

The transition from one day to another is, well, as predictable as the marching of time. And yet, the shift from 31st Dec. to 1st Jan has something magical about it. It spells new hope, a fresh beginning. We hope our resolutions for the new year will bear fruit and wish that yours would come true as well. 

Here's a quick flashback on our highs and lows of 2018. 

Jan: T.S.Srinivasa’s “Discover Garden Climbers” was released by naturalist Vijay Thiruvady followed by an absorbing discussion on climbers, shrubs, grasses and more in a lively Q & A. Mr. Thiruvady and Mr. Srinivasa inaugurated the naming of the trees in our lake by hanging a board on a Badminton Ball (Parkia biglandulosa) and a Big-leaf Mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla).  We are putting up the name boards on other species. 

Srinivasa and Thiruvady, Jan 2018

Feb: The northern side entrance to the lake was finally made secure with a fence and gates. A grant from VMWare enabled us to undertake this installation which had been pending since 2009 when BBMP marked the boundary of the lake. 

Mar: Heavy pre-monsoon rain on the 15th led to sewage gushing into the lake from three sources. BWSSB did stop the inflow but by then the quantum of sewage was too high and the fish began to die. By the end of the week, almost all of the fish were gone. It was a traumatic experience which made us to look into aerating the water. This has become vital because the problem of sewage continues if sporadically. We have taken this up with the Chairman, BWSSB and hope they will find a permanent solution to overflowing underground drains polluting our lake. 

Fish kill, Mar 2018

Our morale received a boost with getting CSR fund from Axis Bank to meet our operational expenses for 2018-19. Such a relief! 

Saahas, our new partner to manage the waste on the lake premises and in the surroundings, began their sensitisation programme and dry waste collection. 

Apr:   Our gardeners laid pipes from the valve chambers along the walking track to water the hedge and plants on the revetment. We used the last of a grant from Deloitte Shared Services India Pvt. Ltd. given in 2015-16 to lay this pipeline and procure ground cover plants for the slope.

Watering line, Apr 2018

May: Our lake is often mistaken for its namesake in Yelahanka or with Sarakki Lake. To end this confusion we added "Puttakere," as it used to be referred to earlier. A large sized board proudly announcing "Puttenahalli Puttakere" was put up at the northern side entrance.

Name board, May 2018

June: We revived the Family Gardening day. Held on the 1st Saturday of the month, adults and children have been working with great enthusiasm. It is open to everyone. Please bring your family too!

Family gardening, June 2018 onwards

PNLIT gardener Jayanna fashioned a fountain aerator by extending the pipeline down the slope into a perforated circular tube resting on a floating platform frame. It works well. Our gardeners are enthused to innovate more!

Jayanna's fountain, Jun 2018

July: Another different event that was greatly appreciated - Yellamma and Other Stories: Stories and musical conversations on Goddess Yellamma. Held in collaboration with the Urban Folk Project, an initiative to archive folk art forms in Karnataka. 

Urban Folk Project event, Jul 2018

Aug.: Led by Mr. Sridhar Pabbisetty of the Namma Bengaluru Foundation, a team of 20 Indian Economic Service officers from New Delhi visited the lake. 

Sept.: In a joint exercise with our knowledge partner, Earthwatch Institute India, part of an international environmental organisation, a Sustainability Training Programme was held for employees of HSBC. Scientists from IISc. conducted the programme. 

We signed an agreement with SMS Labs Services Pvt Ltd. to monitor the quality of the water on a monthly basis. Our heartfelt gratitude to the BMS College of Engineering who had been testing the water in their lab since June 2016. With several independent researchers and organisations coming over to collect samples and conduct their own tests, we felt it was necessary to have our own benchmark. SMS Labs Services Pvt Ltd. is an NABL certified laboratory. 

Oct.: One of our residents, Mr. Rakesh Kasba did a trial run of a self-designed "Duckweed Extractor."  With the duckweed greatly reduced in the lake, we need to explore whether it can be used to remove any other floating waste. 

A video series titled Eco-India by Scroll.in went live. The first episode on Bengaluru lakes includes ours. At the time of writing, it has been viewed 2,50,693 times! 

Nov.: Continuing our effort to aerate the water, we placed an order for a fountain with Alpha Powers, Coimbatore using a part of the Axis Bank grant. Special thanks to Mr. Raghavendra Shanbhag, a regular visitor to the lake for his help with this project. 

Our Children's Day celebration was made memorable by young singer, Anjana Padmanabhan, winner of Indian Idol Jr. Season One and a drum jam led by Ashirwad Achrekar and his 14 year old son, Arnav.  

Children's Day, Nov 2018

Earthwatch Institute India brought out a beautiful coffee table brochure on the Puttenahalli Lake revival story 

Dec. PNLIT Chairperson, Usha Rajagopalan was invited to the International Water Management Institute (IWMI)-Tata Partners’ Meet on 'Building Climate Resilience for Doubling Farmers Income: Innovations in Land, Water, Energy and Ecosystems' held at Anand from 4th to 6th. She gave the Keynote address at a session on 'Warriors for India's Urban Lakes.'  In her speech, Usha had highlighted the assistance PNLIT received from BBMP (Lakes), other government agencies, our CSR partners and from the neighbourhood. With your continued support, we will reach more milestones in 2019.

Striated Heron, Dec 2018

Warmest greetings to you and your family from all of us at PNLIT!

The PNLIT Team

Photo credits: PNLIT Shutterbugs