Report on the Feb 2020 Family Fun Gardening Day

8-year old Adarsh was at the lake with his grandmother, much before the start time of 9:30 a.m. for the family gardening fun!

Our main task was to prune the overgrown hedge in the viewing deck, then clear the leaves to add to the compost bin. Adarsh was up for all of it and along with his grandmother he set to task. After having done more than a quarter of the deck, we all felt a bit tired and started to rake the leaves to rest our palms. Pruning and clearing the whole deck today looked impossible.

When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it - goes a saying. And the universe did conspire and out of nowhere came an army soldier to help us!

He was doing his run around the lake, saw a young kid and two ladies going chop chop and getting tired. He politely asked if he can also join in and went about pruning half the deck and more around the area. Seeing him we were also filled with new energy and finished all our tasks.

Turned out the soldier is on leave from his posting in J&K, he is in Bangalore to help his parents settle and has been visiting our lake for his daily runs as he has to keep fit. We had to ask him to stop as it was over 11 a.m.

Salute to the soldier, and to Adarsh and his grandmom, and their helping spirit. May their tribe increase.

Warmly,

Sapana

Family gardening day July 7th - Report

A lovely morning at the lake started with 2 adults and 1 child assembled at 9:30 am at the gazebo to do their bit for their lake.We, the PNLIT members, wondered what tasks we can do with just 3 of them, but 5-year-old Avani solved our problem as she was all for deweeding and  wanted to remove "bad" plants first, like she did last month.

So off we went with our mini trowels, shovels and rakes and started pulling out the "bad" ones. By 10 am we were 7 adults and 13 kids de-weeding the sidewalk area, raking the dry leaves and pushing them around the trees, shoveling the soil and shearing the hedges. It was a pleasant surprise to see what 13 kids can do when they get to doing!

A loud shout-out to the parents who brought their kids and their friends to work at the lake today. We hope other parents and kids will also join us in the family gardening day on the first Saturday of every month. Next one will be on Aug 4th. 

Sapana
Gardening activity volunteer

On our first Fun Saturday at Puttenahalli Lake

The Family Gardening Day for residents on 2nd June saw 10 adults and 8 children at work at Puttenahalli Lake. 

Volunteer Sapana Rawat who led the team had this to say, "We worked for an hour and plucked out the weeds that needed to be removed. Six year old Avni was thrilled to see worms and other insects. She was so focused, she kept looking for Subabul saplings even after we told her that we had taken them all out!" 

Mr. Nag Raj, her father, added, "She got to relish (Singapore) cherries! We look forward to more such events."

The lessons one learns in childhood especially by actually doing it are those that will stay. We hope more children will come for the next Gardening Day on 7th July. The number of participants may seem low but we would rather grow with a small team, keep growing and make the entire neighbourhood rally to nurture the lake.  

Avni learning gardening

Lessons for life

Anusha with dad

Family Fun Gardening Saturday - 2nd June 2018

Recalling the memories of those days, we are happy to revive the "Bringing the community together" gardening sessions at the lake. The first Saturday of the month will be open to you to exercise your green thumb; to introduce your children to gardening; to work together with your family; to de-stress; to discover the small pleasures of plants; to be one with nature.

Mom and daughter volunteers, July 2013

Ernest work! June 2013

Mom-in-law guiding, July 2013

Carting the clippings, July 2013

Make the most of your neighbourhood lake.  Join us on Saturday, 2nd June 2018 between 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. for the Family Fun Gardening Saturday. 

No registration required. Just come and have fun!

Recognition for PNLIT Volunteer Teacher

It is with great pride that we share this news -  the Millennium Elders' Forum has bestowed  PNLIT volunteer, Mr. C.S. N. Iyer with the MEF Unsung Heroes Award 2017. He was felicitated at a glittering function held last month. 

We remember how he was one of the first persons to respond when we sent an appeal in Aug. 2012 seeking volunteers to teach underprivileged children from the neighbourhood. His only hesitation was that he did not know Kannada. Also, having lived in US for most of his life, his English may be difficult for the children to understand. We coaxed him by saying that the children might as well learn to speak American English than none at all. He was a natural teacher and the students took to him. 

We had to discontinue our teaching programme at the lake but there was no stopping Mr. Iyer. He continues to teach and guide new batches of students. 

Kudos to you, "Tuition Uncle!" The MEF Unsung Heroes Award may be at the neighbourhood level but you are certainly making a difference to many young lives.  

Best regards,

PNLIT team

Why your help is vital

Friends, Please read this article: http://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/bangalore/cover-story/please-dont-go-bengaluru-needs-thousands-of-warriors-like-prabhashankar-rai-not-one-less/articleshow/58567168.cms

We need to grow in number and strength for the sake of our lake. 

Artificial Floating Islands in our lake

Those of you who visited Puttenahalli Lake within the past few months may have noticed small platforms floating in the water. These are Artificial Floating Islands (AFIs) which we "launched", starting in June this year. The Vetiver and Canna planted in them are growing beautifully. PNLIT trustee Nupur, her husband Pranshu Jain together with our gardener, Jayanna, are the builders of five AFIs. With volunteers from Deloitte making two last Friday we now have seven AFIs. 

AFIs, Sep 2016

A Coot's nest in one of the AFIs

Deloitte volunteers with the AFIs they made, 25-Nov-2016

Briefly about the AFI - this is a variant of the wetland, an innovative way to improve water quality and keep the lake clean. In this system of Hydroponic Phytoremediation, plants in floating platforms absorb pollutants in the water to grow. AFIs are widely used abroad but not yet popular in India. 

Simultaneously with the AFIs, we began monthly testing of the water. We are delighted to see steady improvement in the each of the eight parameters we measure - pH, Turbidity, DO, BOD, Total Solids, Total Dissolved Solids, Nitrates and Phosphates. Some parameters still need improvement, but the trends are very encouraging. It may be too early to attribute this improvement to just the AFIs since they are few in number. We have been also curtailing the growth of aquatic weeds thereby exposing more water to the sun.  

Our sincere thanks to BMS College of Engineering for testing the water samples every month, their invaluable contribution to PNLIT. To Srinivas SK for analysing the test results.  CSR support from Deloitte Shared Services India Pvt Ltd. enabled us to remove the thick spread of invasive weed from the water, to hire people to keep the water clear of new sprouts as well as to fund the AFIs. 

Usha

PNLIT Teach Program: Meeting Sadiqa

Of our three students who completed 12th last year, Deepu joined an engineering college and Ramya, B.Com, both taking a step closer to achieving their dream of becoming an Engineer and Chartered Accountant. Sadiqa had wanted to do Medicine but not only did she get 71% in the board exam, her CET ranking too was disappointing. Ever since the results were announced, there was no news of her. Of the three, she had been the quietest and the brightest but perhaps she wasn't as lucky, we thought. Yesterday while waiting for a bus, she joined me with a big, happy smile. We boarded the bus together and caught up with lost time. 

Sadiqa said she had grown to hate Biology and hence done poorly in the exams. She took time to decide which subjects she liked the best and changed her direction from Medicine. She joined Vijaya College for B.Sc in Statistics, Maths and Computers. She likes Maths but finds Statistics even more interesting and wants to do Masters in this. The once quiet girl rattled off all this in excellent English oblivious of other passengers in the crowded bus looking curiously at us. When questioned she said that at +2, the teachers had taught in English. Her language skill developed and so did her interest in reading books in English and Hindi. 

She is grateful for the coaching PNLIT had arranged for her and is now taking classes for other underprivileged children! The classes are being held in the veranda of a house in Arekere Mico Layout. She gets a small amount for this. More importantly, Sadiqa has realized that she likes to teach and wants to do so professionally after her post graduation. 

At PNLIT we only facilitated the classes. The entire credit of moulding these young achievers go to their teachers -  Ramakrishna Rao, Lalitha Kamath,  Beena Ramesh, Hema Nair from South City, Sudha Veeramani, Vijetha Sanjay, Dr. C.S.N Iyer, Seema Doraiswamy from Brigade Millennium, Vivek Krishna from RBI Layout and Ancy Tom all the way from BTM Layout. Kudos!

For various reasons including lack of manpower to coordinate, our classes at the lake programme has been irregular, but after meeting Sadiqa, I wonder if we should resume it actively again. We can perhaps help more Sadiqas, Deepus and Ramyas? 

Best

Usha

WPA volunteers at Puttenahalli Lake

On Saturday 21st Jun 2014, a group of fourteen young employees from WPA World Class Services (India), Koramangala spent a couple of hours out in the sun at Puttenahalli Lake, away from the air-conditioned rooms of their office. Many had come from the east of Bangalore, volunteering their time, to help with the upkeep of the lake area. 

After a brief introduction by PNLIT trustee Nupur Jain, they set to work to clean up the long stretch along the Nataraja Layout - Coconut Grove side, guided by our neighbourhood volunteer Rekha George. They were an enthusiastic group with everyone looking for the tools appropriate for the main task of digging out the overgrown weeds and unwanted plants. At times they just had to use their hands. It was tough work, given that it had not rained for several days and the ground was hard. To complete the job, the weeds were transferred to the leaf composters that are set along the walking track, and in a few months will turn to manure. 

Mr Prashanth Mahadevaiah, Manager QA, from WPA, who lives close to the lake said, "It was a wonderful experience which tested our team members' strengths physically, and a memorable one as we worked along together as a team." Indeed, a satisfying way to spend a Saturday morning! Thanks to the WPA team.

Pics: Rekha / Nupur​

Apart from volunteering your services, if your organisation/ institution/ association would like to partner with PNLIT and Puttenahalli Lake, here are some of the opportunities which can be of mutual benefit.

Corporate Social Responsibility. We understand the needs of organisations to enable CSR activities that truly contribute, are meaningful to the participants and are easily managed. There are a host of long and short-term programmes for organisational groups to be a part of at the lake, at different capacities.

Training. The enclosed area of the lake allows for high quality and novel Corporate Training and other training programmes. It is outdoors, not far from the city and unique. Lake management activities can be used to form a basis for the activity and the space/perimeter walkway area can also be used.

Creating Events. Organisations, individuals and groups can also contribute through revenue earned by hosting chargeable Workshops, Camps and Activities - Photography, Nature walks and Bird spotting, School sessions, Garage sales, Art or Photo Competitions and more.

Merchandise / Promotional Material. Funding can also be facilitated by the sale/auctions of objects and craft items, such as cloth bags, T-shirts, tea coasters, calendars, recycled bottle cap key chains and fridge magnets, wristbands, at fairs at apartment complexes, offices, school carnivals and other community programmes. With your logo/ branding, these can be customized to serve as corporate gifts.  

For more details, do drop us a line <puttenahalli.lake@gmail.com> and we will get in touch with you.  

Website: http://www.puttenahallilake.in.

Volunteers required - Arekere (Dorsani Palya) Reserve Forest

The Arekere Reserve Forest is located in Arekere-Mico Layout (off Bannerghatta Rd), near Puttenahalli Lake. It is home to several species of birds, butterflies and other life forms. Information on the efforts to get it cleaned can be found on our blog post here.

Please see the message from Mr Saravanan, the coordinator of the clean up effort.

-------------

Hi All,

We have the following events scheduled as part of forest restoration at Dorsani Palya Reserve Forest.

1. Cleaning the reserve forest scheduled on 21/06/2014 (Saturday) at 7 am onwards
2. Neighborhood campaign following Saturday (28/06/2014).

Your participation along with kids, friends and colleagues will encourage outdoor activities. This will also give you an opportunity to share your ideas/suggestions.

Thank you,   
Saravanan

To confirm your participation and for more info, please mail Saravanan <saravanan_ss@yahoo.com>.

This is to make arrangements for refreshments. 

Volunteering Saturday! Mark the date

After a lull, we are resuming our weekend volunteering programme at Puttenahalli Lake this Sat. 7th Dec. Please confirm your participation with an email <puttenahalli.lake@gmail.com>. 

Time: 7.30 a.m. 

Work to be done: shifting red soil from outside the gate at BM end, deweeding, trimming branches, etc. 

PNLIT is a very small team and quite often only 1 or 2 trustees are available to coordinate any activity including weekend gardening. When saddled with other unavoidable commitments, we are forced to cancel the gardening. This is why we are inviting volunteers only on one day, 7th Dec. 

To ensure continuity, we seek volunteers who can coordinate gardening for residents on weekends. It is a popular activity with adults and children alike and we've had parents work together with their children on the lake bund. It is indeed a remarkable and unusual opportunity in an urban setting like ours. 

If you would like to be a part of this gardening team, please email. Time commitment is only a couple of hours at the lake on weekends. Satisfaction quotient, very high!

File photo: Volunteers at work on one of the weekends

Appreciate your support to PNLIT

Dear friends,

With a good monsoon this year and with street rainwater harvesting in place, the Puttenahalli Lake is slowly filling up with rainwater. The trees are growing well, and the birds, butterflies, fish and other creatures are settling down in this restored ecosystem. The people of the lake vicinity have an assured public open space and a place for recreation.

All this has been made possible because of the patronage that Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust, PNLIT (the custodian of the lake) has received from the residents of the area and other well-wishers, through visits to the lake, participation in the lake activities, volunteering and donations. 

Volunteers at the lake

School children on a nature walk

Nesting birds

Relevance. Because Lakes = Community = Life.
The relevance of lakes for a large, incessantly-growing metropolis like Bangalore cannot be emphasized enough. Pollution, shortage of water and urban flooding during heavy rains will only affect the city more adversely, year after year. Lakes have significant environmental, social and infrastructure development implications. They raise the water table in a geophysical zone, act as a catchment for rainwater (hence drinking water) and are responsible for the cooling convectional rain cycle that the city sees during summer. They reduce the zone's temperature and air pollution, act as a buffer space during flooding, clean the air and are a habitat for diverse animal and plant life.

For those who are not familiar with the background of Puttenahalli Lake, JP Nagar 7^th Phase:

- A sign of successful development is the natural evolution of the lake ecosystem – animal, bird and plant life. From being a dumping yard in 2008 the lake is now home to at least 60 species of birds, including migratory ones, and wonderful flora. There is a 920 m walkway, a gazebo and guard house and visitors, walkers and bird lovers are frequent.

- Seeded by a group of residents (in 2008) keen to revive the ecological stability of the lake, in the interest of the community and nature conservation, PNLIT is the first citizens' group to take over a lake's maintenance from the BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike).

- The working model, often referred to as the "Puttenahalli Lake Model", is being replicated by the BBMP/ BDA/ Lake Development Authority elsewhere in Bangalore City.

- PNLIT's efforts have today led to an extensive 'lake-saving movement' in Bangalore and has heightened public awareness of the importance of lakes through constant attention in the media.

- PNLIT won the Namma Bengaluru Award 2012, was the 1^st runner-up at the TCS People's Green Award 2012, and was a finalist at the Mahindra Spark the Rise 2012. 

- BBMP funded and executed the restoration of the lake but gives no financial assistance for monthly expenses and other improvements. PNLIT has been meeting these expenses through public donations, sale of our products (such as T-shirts, cloth bags, coasters, nature walks) and last year, through the awards received.

******

In the last financial year, PNLIT was able to make some key improvements at the lake including:
- planting of an additional 200-odd trees and shrubs

- sprucing up the approach area, a neatly secured, yet accessible garden area

- rain water harvesting tanks and well in the lake bed

- cycle stand, wheelchair access gate, exercise bars, essential signage
- small dustbins, enclosure for garbage near the hutments
- preliminary work for a butterfly house.

We also have acquired some useful tools and equipment that would assist in the maintenance and upkeep of the garden and lake areas. Apart from the monthly expenses, we have been focused on building up a corpus fund – so that in the years ahead, the interest earned will be able to meet a large portion, if not the entire monthly expenses.

Monthly expenses currently are in the range of Rs 40,000 – 50,000 per month. These include salaries of the field staff for sweeping, gardening, deweeding and other odd jobs, and other recurring expenses.   

The primary objectives of fund-raising are:
- to meet current monthly operational expenses
- to ensure a lasting, positive, dependable environment for community interaction and
- to make the lake development effort truly self-sustaining for the long term.

Our immediate fund raising target, to meet the expenses for 2013-14, is Rs 5,00,000/-, of which we have raised Rs 1,50,000/-. We are open to any innovative and interesting ideas that could integrate your family, organisation or institution, to help our funding needs to be met. Funding can be of any denomination, at this point we need all the assistance we can get. You can make a one time donation or a recurring amount periodically. 

Donations may be made in cash, cheque or by direct remittance.Donations are eligible for income tax exemption, u/s 80G of the Income Tax Act (50% deduction from taxable income) 

Donation in Cheque (in favour of "PNLIT") or Cash may be given to our representatives:
Nupur Jain, C612, BM Cassia – 9886629769
O P Ramaswamy, A917, BM Mayflower – 9845079076
Usha Rajagopalan, B3-502, South City – 7259722996
Vidula Krishnaswamy, Brigade Palm Springs – 9845423432

If sending cheque by post to our registered office:
PNLIT, Usha Rajagopalan,
B3, 502, South City, Arekere Mico Layout,
Off Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore 560 076 

Direct remittance
Internet Banking
Branch name - State Bank of India, RBI Layout, Bangalore 560078
Savings Account no 31209228099 in the name of "Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust"
MICR Code: 560002090
Transfer within India - IFSC Code: SBIN0004408
Transfer from abroad - Swift Code: SBININ BB423 (The bank charges Rs 500+other fees for Forex transfer - so not preferred)
Credit Card/Debit Card - PNLIT Store on eBay Charity

Let us continue working together to bring stability to the Puttenahalli Lake ecosystem. 

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call or email Usha 7259722996 <puttenahalli.lake@gmail.com>.

Thank you for your continued support.
The PNLIT Team

----

Stay connected

Website - documents the progress of the project, flora and fauna
Email group: pnlit@googlegroups.com
Social media: Facebook, Twitter
Blogs: Plog - The PNLIT Blog, Puttenahalli Post on Citizen Matters
Blackboard, notice board and educational information boards onsite, in the lake premises.

Saluting teachers

Teacher - the most important job in the world!

In a very small way, PNLIT is contributing towards the education of underprivileged children living on the Puttenahalli Lake bund. The classes at the lake started over a year ago, as mentioned in our blog post here. If the programme is doing as well as it is, it is entirely due to our dedicated volunteer teachers.

On this Teachers' Day, heartfelt thanks to them and indeed, to all teachers.

Please see last update on the PNLIT Volunteer Teaching Program by our volunteer Vivek Krishna here.

Classes at the lake

Help Puttenahalli Lake this weekend

I hope many of you are going to volunteer to work at our lake this weekend! Please email your availability by tomorrow, Thursday, so that we can coordinate the activities better. We have pushed back the timings by a half hour. It will now be from 7.30 a.m. to 9.30 a.m. 

Since I will be travelling from tomorrow for a week, please email confirmation of your participation to <puttenahalli.lake@gmail.com>, marking a copy to "Ramaswamy OP" <opr.sulo@gmail.com>, "Nupur Jain" <nupur21@gmail.com>.

Volunteers at the lake, 30-Jun-2013 (Pic: OP Ramaswamy)

Thank you for supporting our neighbourhood lake!

Best

Usha

Scheduling volunteering activities at the Lake

Over the last few weeks, we've been having enough volunteers visit the lake on weekends, so we've been able to get some of our gardeners' work done, in their absence. However, no volunteer came today until 7:20 a.m. and hence it was decided to call off work. Karthik from Marathahalli reached the venue around 7:25 a.m. As he is also collecting clothes for Uttarakhand relief, we did that work instead and his long drive was not entirely wasted. 

We've now decided to do some pre-planning for the volunteer weekends, so that in future we won't have to cancel any sessions. We request volunteers to inform us by the Thursday of the week if they will be giving their time on Saturday/Sunday. The weekend activity will depend on the number of people available. By Friday we will confirm individually to all those who responded so that you may also make your weekend plans accordingly.

Tomorrow's session (Sunday 28th July 2013) stands cancelled. 

Best wishes

Usha 

Beauty in wilderness - please help the lake this weekend

With our two gardeners still on leave, the weeds are growing really rampant everywhere smothering our carefully selected and planted flowering shrubs. Depending on the number of volunteers who turn up, we can begin with clearing the garden on either side of the picket gate at South City end. The weed growth is not too bad in the side we'd filled with red soil but the other half is looking quite bad with wild castor, alligator weed and parthenium among other weeds.

Another place to be cleared is the Viewing Deck. On 2nd June a large number of residents had come and planted very many shrubs. That day the child in the pic had planted a shrub which has not grown much but thanks to the rain, has already begun flowering.  The weeds around this and elsewhere in the deck need to be removed. 

2nd June 2013

19th July, in bloom

SC side garden needs some attention

Bamboo shooting up

Cannas

All lake volunteers and those of you who have not volunteered any time - please come. Our volunteer V.P. Karthik is joining the relief team at Uttarakhand along with members of "Youth for Seva". If you would like to donate money, medicine or clothes, please bring them to the lake when you come.

This weekend at Puttenahalli Lake, Saturday 20th & Sunday 21st July 2013. Time 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Help the lake, support PNLIT!

Usha

Join us this weekend at the lake

Volunteers last weekend, 30-Jun-2013 (Pic: OP Ramaswamy)

Yes, it's that exciting, exerting time of the week! Weekend gardening at the lake!

You can make such a difference to our neighbourhood lake with just a couple of hours of deweeding and cleaning. Make those two hours even more special by getting your family to work with you.

Bond with your family. Bond with your lake.

See you tomorrow and on Sunday at 7 a.m. 

Don't forget to bring a cap and drinking water. Gloves and gardening tools optional. 

Usha

PNLIT, you and Puttenahalli Lake

June is an important month for PNLIT. It was in June 2010 that we registered the trust with four founder members - Arathi Manay, Prasanna Vynatheya, OP Ramaswamy and myself. We began with one agenda - save our neighbourhood lake from becoming extinct. Once BBMP began rejuvenating the lake, we raised the bar for ourselves - to transform it into an avian habitat; involve the neighbourhood in its maintenance. 

Highlighting our journey so far, Arathi sent this succinct yet poetic mail to our egroup on the 11th June 2013: 

PNLIT completes three years today! A big thank you to the BBMP, contractors, suppliers, staff, donors, volunteers and other well-wishers for another fulfilling year.

Birds, butterflies, nests, trees, flowers, fruit... 

Donations, sponsorship, fund raising, volunteering... 

Innovation, awards, recognition, luck...

Vandalism, indifference, Salvinia...

Lake saviours all over Bangalore...

Water...

Support, cooperation, participation...

All these, and more! 

We look back at the transformation of Puttenahalli Lake with a lot of satisfaction and gratitude... 

It is true that we've achieved a great deal but there's a lot more we have to do. Our constraint is manpower. We are only five trustees, Nupur Jain being the fifth and given our personal and professional assignments, at any point in time only one or two of us are available or in town. In addition to our other commitments, we devote very many hours at the lake each day, not to mention the time we spend on planning, executing, coordinating, emailing, contacting different government agencies and officials, individuals, raising funds, interacting with the press and different lake groups across the city, etc. That the lake is steadily coming to life while supporting a wide range of life forms and recharging the water table is what keeps us going. PNLIT has indeed succeeded in ensuring that the Puttenahalli lake does not join the ranks of vanished lakes in the city. 

With your assistance, we can do all that we want/have to without burning ourselves out. Some of the tasks (to begin with!) for which we need your help are given below:  

1. Create flower beds. You'll need to identify the kind of plants (preferably which will attract butterflies), source them and coordinate the planting with our volunteers. 
2. Cover the boundary fencing likewise with vines and climbers. Requirement as above.
3. Landscaping at select spots (such as the one in Pic1 below). Requirement as above.
4. Set up a vermicomposting unit. It doesn't matter if you don't know how to do this. There are several websites you can refer to such as the one here.
5. The composting unit could come in the corner plot (as we refer to it) near the culvert (see Pic2). This place needs to be cleaned (work already begun with hired help) and maintained. 
6. Despite their zeal and enthusiasm, if we do not call volunteers over on some weekends or ask them to come only on a Saturday or a Sunday, it is because we've had a particularly tiring week. As Volunteer Coordinators, you'll need to assign work for the day; reach before the volunteers arrive, arrange distribution of garden equipment and supervise their work. 
7. Develop a range of PNLIT products in order to raise funds. Shome Sengupta has offered his help. You can join him. 
8. Water from the new diversion channel is falling with such force that it has dislodged the granite stones below it. To reduce the force, we'd like you to explore the possibility of making the inflow cascade like a waterfall into a pond (see Pic3 below). You'll need to get technical guidance (we know a couple of experts) and get the work done through hired help. 
9. Coordinate the activities for children  who want to take up social service as part of the International Award for Young People. This is a great way to promote conservation and the dignity, value of physical work among youngsters who are mostly in Std 9. 
10. If you are not able to spend time at the lake, you can still help from home. We have a rich photograph collection of birds and butterflies spotted at the lake. These photos, photos and more photos (all in soft copy) need sorting and arranging. Along with the flora and fauna, they are an invaluable record of how the lake has evolved. 

Pic1 - spot for landscaping

Pic2 - culvert corner, proposed place for composting

Pic3 - our waterfall dream!

By forming teams for each of these tasks, the work load will be distributed and lightened. Though we are no experts, we will share with you whatever we know, give you contacts and of course bear the financial cost involved in implementation. 

Together we can achieve our ultimate goal of making Puttenahalli, the people's lake. With hundreds of lakes in the city vanishing, ours is a rarity - a thriving lake. Let's keep it that way for our children's sake. 

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Best

Usha Rajagopalan

Chairperson, PNLIT