Lake Revival a Myth?

"Lake Revival a Myth?" is an article in today's New Indian Express reproduced below. PNLIT is happy and proud to say that Puttenahalli Lake revival is not a myth. The newspaper report has cited our work in the last para (highlighted in bold).

If you would like know what exactly we have done to revive the lake and how we are maintaining it as a People's Lake, please join a special Tour of Puttenahalli Lake on Sunday, 22nd Sept. at 9 a.m. Walk duration 1 hour 15 min. 

Please email <puttenahalli.lake@gmail.com> to confirm your participation. 

Thank you

Usha

Puttenahalli Lake, 18-Sep-2013 (Pic: Syamanth)

Lake Revival a Myth? - The New Indian Express

By Shyama Krishna Kumar - BANGALORE

Published: 18th September 2013 10:01 AA

Last Updated: 18th September 2013 10:01 AM

The city has survived on lakes for centuries which were interconnected by an intricate network of canals. These lakes captured rainwater and stored it for use in post-monsoon, thereby, recharging ground water levels. Today, however, barring some of the bigger lakes, none has received water this monsoon, and so have remained dry.

"This was to be expected as measures need to be taken to save the water bodies of this city. Now it seems too late to restore our lakes to their former glory," says Leo Saldanha, Environment Support Group.

"First, the raja kaluves need to be stripped off their concrete heads so that porosity of soil beds is increased. People think that most of the water is stored in the lakes, but it's actually in the canals.

Trees and shrubs need to be planted along these canals, so as to help the water seep into the soil. Secondly, strict action needs to be taken against those who let out untreated waste into these waters. Residential sewage pits also need to be built. All lakes should also have their own lake protection committees," adds Leo.

Maintenance of the lakes has also been suspect with their care distributed among multiple authorities. However, the BBMP feels that this year has seen some progress when it comes to lake rejuvenation through rain water replenishment.

"Most of the lakes that have been developed recently, are all receiving water. The feeder canals have been opened and you can see fresh water flowing into the lakes," claims Satish, chief engineer, BBMP.

The Karnataka Government had passed a special law making rainwater harvesting mandatory for certain class of dwellings and commercial establishments in 2005.

However, Leo says, from the 15-20 lakh buildings that are supposed to implement this system, only 50,000 have actually done so and of these, many systems don't function.

Usha Rajagopalan, trustee, Puttenahalli Lake Trust, says, "On May 22, we had two buckets worth of water in the lake. Post the rains, the same evening, 45 per cent of the lake bed was covered. Over the entire monsoon, we saw an 80-85 per cent rise in coverage." She adds,w both residents and the government need to work hand -in-hand if lakes have to be recharged.

Url of the article: http://newindianexpress.com/cities/bangalore/Lake-revival-a-myth/2013/09/18/article1790376.ece#

Two birds at the lake

The dead tree which our volunteers had placed on the lake bed in June this year has always had some bird or the other perching on it. 

Volunteers helped shift the dead tree to the lakebed (June 2013)

Today it was the turn of a Little Cormorant. The sight of these cormorants is heartening since they are predominantly fish eaters. From June to now, it is not only the birds that are new to the lake but also the water level as you can see around the dead tree in the photographs.  

Little Cormorant

Another lovely bird spotted today was a Pheasant-tailed Jacana in breeding plumage. They typically breed in the monsoon, laying eggs in floating nests. We didn't spot any nest today but will be on the lookout for them. 

Pheasant-tailed Jacana

What is more conspicuous, indeed at several places in the lake are the nests of the Common Coot. The coots are hatching or swimming with chicks of various sizes everywhere. They are converting the lake into a veritable nursery! 

Usha

Nesting waters, blooming gardens

With the heavy rains, it is a delight to see how much water has entered the lake this monsoon and how quickly it has become a nesting haven for birds. The weeds are being removed from the lake by a dedicated workforce but stray little weed patches here and there, that have birds' nests in them have been left untouched. The bigger 'islands' have been retained deliberately for birds to shelter from overhead predators. 

The gardens of the lake and the trees have also been well fed by the rains. The blooming flowers are bustling with butterflies and other creatures. 

Pics: taken today, Usha Rajagopalan

Paplu at Puttenahalli Lake

It was a magical morning at Puttenahalli Lake on 7^th September. The occasion was a nation wide story telling event promoted by Pratham Books to celebrate International Literacy Day. PNLIT signed up to engage children in the locality with Surabhi Herur, a young and versatile theatre person who lives in Elita Promenade, Priya Ramakrishnan, carnatic music teacher and her daughter Sukanya a budding story teller from Brigade Millennium.  

The children and their parents began assembling a good half hour before the programme began and whiled the time by walking around and seeing the Coots and Cormorants in the lake. Once Surabhi began, however, no one had eyes or ears for anything except for her dramatic narration. 

To overcome the children's inhibitions, she got them to form a circle, walk around and say their name with a gesture/action. She and the kids then sat on the floor of the gazebo with the parents sitting on the benches all ready to hear about Paplu, a young Giant who is too kind and friendly, quite unlike others of his clan. His mother shrinks him to human size and leaves him to live with the head man in a village.

One day the village is attacked by Angaar, the bandit and his men. Paplu recites the mantra which his mother had taught him and whoosh… he becomes a giant again. His clothes, however, do not grow with him. He runs and hides himself till the village tailors get together to stitch a set of clothes for him. Wearing his new colourful clothes, Paplu the Giant routs the bandits and saves the village.

The cool breeze, the sound of traffic, the sight of birds, rippling water in the lake everything ceased to exist as each child became a Paplu in his/her mind. To heighten their excitement, the kids had to stick colourful pieces of cloth on a Paplu model made by the children of Snehadhara Foundation. 

Between Surabhi and Priya – Sukanya duo, the children got to hear the story not once or twice but thrice. The early birds who came for the first session in Kannada, sat for the Hindi and by the third round in English, they pretty much knew the story by heart.

The spell that Surabhi and Priya cast on the audience, young and old, was no less magical than Paplu's mantra! When asked if they enjoyed the story and wanted another session soon, the parents were as loudly enthusiastic as their young wards! Who indeed doesn't like a good story well told?  

Usha

Photos: PNLIT and Prime Jyothi
More pictures of the event can be seen here.

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

One Day, One Story @ Our Lake, 7th September 2013

About the PNLIT Story Tellers: 

Surabhi is a theatre person with wide ranging experience who loves working with children. 

Sukanya loves to read and is a student of Sri Chaitanya Techno School, Std 9.

Priya teaches Carnatic classical music, believes that kids need a platform to showcase themselves and have fun.

Don't let your children miss this opportunity! Tell your kids to tell their friends. Let them all gather at Puttenahalli Lake on 7th September and be enthralled.

Weekend gardening at the lake

Do you know that gardening is good exercise? Gardening for thirty minutes daily has these benefits (to name just four):

1) Increases flexibility (loosening all those cramped muscles)

2) Strengthens joints

3) Decrease blood pressure and cholesterol levels

4) Slows down osteoporosis

Not to mention the psychological boost you'll get about working out AND helping to maintain our neighbourhood lake. 

Even if you can't indulge in gardening everyday, you can do so this weekend at Puttenahalli Lake! 

Time: 7.30 a.m. to 9 a.m.

Please bring a cap and drinking water. Gloves and gardening tools - optional. An email <puttenahalli.lake@gmail.com> to confirm your participation will be welcome. 

To know more about why gardening is good exercise, please do a google search and tell us too!  

Have a healthy, active weekend at our lake.

Usha

60 young visitors to the lake

Children from three branches of a play school visited the lake today. They had been learning about birds and flowers from books and had come to see them in real.

The first excitement was an insect in the gazebo and then the walk began. 

As if flowers in our garden, butterflies flitting everywhere and birds in the sky and water were not enough, the sight of the chicks of the Common Coot made the three year olds open their eyes wider. A couple of slugs and a wriggling earthworm added to their excitement. 

Despite their very young age, the children were so well behaved. All kudos to the teachers who kept them engaged by pointing out each little natural treasure that PNLIT guide Mr.Gopinath showed them.



(Pics: Nupur Jain)

We hope today's visit to Puttenahalli Lake will stay in their minds for a long, long time.

Usha

Pictures taken by Mr Gopinath can be seen here.

First discussion session at Puttenahali Lake

Bhargavi Rao, Trustee ESG leads the discussion 

The open discussion session on 24th August 2013, was the first of a series of talks-discussions on "Changing Bengaluru", planned to be held every month at Puttenahalli Lake by PNLIT in association with Saaphalya Pramukha Trust.

Read the report by Nikita Malusare, Citizen Matters here.

More pictures of the event can be seen here.

Discussion: Changing Bengaluru - In your voices

You've cribbed, you've ranted, you've tolerated, you've praised (even if rarely) aspects of our city, Bengaluru. Here's an opportunity to let everyone hear what you think about the way our city is changing.

PNLIT and Saaphalya Pramukha Trust are organizing an open discussion on how the city echoes with the many sweeping changes brought about by time and people. 

Leading the discussion will be Ms Bhargavi S. Rao, Trustee, Environment Support Group (ESG), Bengaluru and Mr G.V. Dasarathi who promotes sustainable transport (cycling, walking, using a bus). 

Venue: Gazebo, Puttenahalli Lake, Near MLR Convention Centre, JP Nagar 7th Phase

Date: Sat. 24th Aug 2013

Time: 10.30 a.m. (please assemble by 10.15 a.m.)

About the organizers:

Saaphalya Pramukha Trust was set up to address the issues that affect people and society at large. These are concerns voiced by Pramukh Raghunandan, a young journalist before his untimely demise. His articles along with views of experts on aspects that capture the soul of this city have been compiled in a volume titled "So The City Echoes" which will be available at the venue for a donation of any amount you make to Saaphalya.  

Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust (PNLIT) is a citizens' initiative to tackle the worsening water crisis in the city by reviving our lakes. PNLIT maintains the Puttenahalli Lake with donations from the public. 

For more information, please contact:

Usha Rajagopalan (from PNLIT www.puttenahallilake.in.) <puttenahalli.lake@gmail.com>, 72597 22996