Bird Watch at the Lake - Spotted Dove

So far  we'd only seen Rock Pigeons at our lake but yesterday, at about 5.15 p.m., we saw a Spotted Dove! It was sitting on the dead tree our volunteers had planted in the lake bed. 

Though a common bird, we were seeing it for the first time and were quite excited about its presence. Its soft cooing was what attracted our attention to the bird. Delightful!

The dead tree is such a favourite with birds that we have planted a few more at various points in the lake bed. It is great to see different kinds of birds sitting on some branch or the other!

Usha

Spotted Dove

Myna and Little Cormorant 

Pics: Usha Rajagopalan

Rotary citation to PNLIT

Sincere thanks to Rotary Bangalore South Parade for the citation presented to PNLIT.      

In you we find a crusader in saving the environment and water bodies in Bangalore. 

Against all odds you have relentlessly worked to revive a dead lake and brought Puttenahalli lake to full life with water, flora fauna, fish and birds.

We the President, Board of Directors and Members of Rotary Bangalore South Parade on this day of July 4 2014 recognize your contribution to the residents of Bangalore City for enhancing the quality of life. 

​

Usha and Nupur represented PNLIT at a function on the 4th of July to receive it.

PNLIT renews MoU with BBMP

We are happy to tell you that PNLIT's MoU with the BBMP for the maintenance of Puttenahalli Lake has been renewed for another three years. We would like to take this opportunity to share with you some information regarding the MoU.

PNLIT's responsibilities include:

- Maintenance of trees, plants and grass by regular watering, pruning, staking, manuring, de-weeding the embankment slopes and walkway, and other measures to ensure the healthy growth of plants and trees

- Removing of weeds along the embankment, lake and collecting floating materials which are accumulated at the embankment of the lake and also keeping embankment in good condition

- General housekeeping activities such as sweeping and clearing any litter/ garbage, litter bins and dustbins to be installed and maintained on daily basis

- Allow access to public every day to use the lake for walks and relaxation at scheduled hours prescribed by BBMP

- Round the clock watch the lake and the park environmentally, reporting requirements to BBMP

- Ensure that the fence is intact, that there is no new encroachment, that debris and garbage is not dumped in the lake area and report any violation to BBMP.

PNLIT receives no funding from BBMP or the government towards discharging its responsibilities. PNLIT meets costs/ expenses for the maintenance of the lake, and for the other objectives of the trust through donations and volunteering/ fund raising activities. The trustees/ volunteers work on an honorary basis, keeping environmental sustainability and local community participation at the lake a deliberate focus. 

The lake is slowly reaching a stage of stability, with support from the BBMP and from you, donors and volunteers. Together we seem to have inspired others across the city to assume responsibility for a lake in their locality. We are particularly happy that there are over 35 such groups in the city and many of them have used our PNLIT Trust Deed as a template to register themselves! 

In the three years ahead, we need your help more than ever - for both financial support and sharing responsibilities. 

Current annual expenses are about Rs 6 lakhs. Donations to PNLIT are exempt u/s 80G of the IT Act. To know how you can donate, please see here.

We appeal to you to come forward and give us a helping hand. A couple of hours a week to lead specific initiatives, take over specific responsibilities, raise funds/ organise fund raisers, etc. would go a long way in nurturing this precious lake in our neighbourhood. Drop us a line if you can contribute in any way. Mail to puttenahalli.lake@gmail.com.

The PNLIT Team

Hares in the Arekere Reserve Forest

The cleaning session at Arekere (Dorsani Palya) Reserve Forest on Sunday 29th June 2014 had many of the morning walkers join the effort. The extra hands really helped the volunteers (who have pledged their support to the clean-up campaign) do more than they had expected. 

However it was noticed that apart from plastic, a lot of rubbish, including wet waste, gets thrown from the road, over the compound wall. People are using this like a road side garbage dump! For a proper clean-up of this part, the group decided to engage paid labour or rag pickers.

The forest is known for its birds, butterflies and other insects. But mammals? The highlight of the morning, and the most surprising find was the spotting of wild hares in the forest. Prasanna, one of the volunteers wrote to the PNLIT email group, "Yes you can call it a miracle that these beautiful creatures are still surviving despite all odds". 

With stray dogs frequenting the area, Prasanna wonders how long the hares will survive. The Forest Department and others will need to make a focussed and concerted effort to keep the dogs out and preserve the habitat for the hares so that they can breed. In the huge 130-acre area, surely if there is a will, it should be possible, with the support of the Forest Department.  

We need to go beyond making the forest a beautiful place for walking and exercising. We need to save the hares that have made this their home. If you have any ideas on how the hares can be protected and would like to join the effort, please email  Prasanna Vynatheya .

Read about a rescued hare on the wrrc website here.

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.

Weekend cleanup at Arekere Reserve Forest continues

​The incredible forest

Please join the Arekere (Dorsani Palya) Reserve Forest team on Sunday, 29th June 2014 at 7:00 a.m. The task at hand will be to continue cleaning up from where the volunteers stopped last week. For the exact location, please see the earlier post here. Children are most welcome to go along with their parents/ grandparents. 

Mr Saravanan, who is coordinating the cleanup efforts, had this to say about the start they made on 21st June:

It is quite interesting to see our first baby steps towards this cleanup drive. It was a successful and motivating event with remarkable response not only from our volunteers but also from public. There were about 40-50 people collected close to 35 bags of garbage.

Our sincere thanks to Dushyant, Sujatha, Arathi, Selvakumar, Usha & Manjunath, who put lot of efforts behind the scene. Also, special thanks go to Hariprasad representing forest department. Not to miss, enthusiastic Vishal showed real forest warden skills.   The list will go on and on....in nutshell.... THANK YOU ALL.

Words from Sanjay about this event:
It's said that Cleanliness is next to Godliness, and Nature is God... so we got a double deal last Saturday morning when we went to clean the forest. Though I must confess that much like the Indian police in a Bollywood movie, I went after everything was over, but managed to catch some of the volunteers before they went home.  It was a really lovely gathering with people of all ages and plenty of ladies too, enjoying hot steaming delicious idlis soaked in tasty chutney. There was a huge pile of garbage bags as evidence of all the work of that morning. 

​Some of the volunteers

The garbage

A yahoo group <dpfr_blr@yahoogroups.com> has been formed to keep the team in touch. If you would like to volunteer for Arekere Forest or stay posted about the cleanup progress, please subscribe to the group by email <dprf_blr-subscribe@yahoogroups.com> or get in touch with Saravanan <saravanan_ss@yahoo.com>.

Thanks to Saravanan for the pics.   

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. 

Four years of PNLIT

Four years ago on this day, four people were waiting at the sub-registrar's office in JP Nagar to get a trust deed registered. Along with them, two others, who were to sign as witnesses. They were well prepared, having drafted the document themselves, getting it reviewed by the sub-registrar office clerks a couple of days earlier, carefully printing it, with all the papers that they had been told to bring. However, given the reputation that the sub-registrar offices have, it would be wrong to say that they were not worried about being put in an uncomfortable spot at some stage. It took but an hour or so. They were done... mugshots, signatures and all, and with the satisfaction that it was a "clean" effort. PNLIT was born! From 4 we are now 400+ (likes on Facebook!) and growing. 

​Puttenahalli Lake, June 2010 (on the cover of Citizen Matters, July 2010)

​Puttenahalli Lake, June 2014 (Pic: Nupur Jain)

Don't miss the long-surviving date palm on the island, which is PNLIT's logo, representing resilience and perseverance.  

The past four years have been very eventful, as you will have realised, through first hand experiences at the lake, participation in PNLIT's activities and the regular emails/ blog updates we send out. There have been bouquets of joy and pools of sorrow, quite literally! Yes, the trees planted four years ago are blooming. 

For those of us who have been closely involved with PNLIT, the learning has been tremendous, and as varied as it can get (ranging from technology to finance to human resource management to education to governance to just common sense!). The support received from various quarters has been critical in meeting challenges as they appeared, and working around unforeseen situations.

Sincere thanks to BBMP and other government authorities, staff, donors, volunteers, vendors and everyone else who has made the four years totally worth it! 

There is much still to be done. PNLIT meets the expenses for the upkeep of Puttenahalli Lake and for its other activities, mainly through donations received from the public. PNLIT is recognised as a charity and donations are exempt u/s 80G of the IT Act. With almost no administrative expenses, you can be sure that your money is well spent. If you would like to support a charity, do consider PNLIT. For details on how you can donate and help please click here. 

We look forward to your continued support in transforming Puttenahalli Lake from the dump that it was, into a secure ecosystem and a place of serenity for all of us. More info on PNLIT and Puttenahalli Lake on our website www.puttenahallilake.in.

   

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Arathi Manay ಆರತಿ ಮಾನೆ

Trustee, PNLIT

Water in the lake again!

The recent heavy rains in Bangalore have resulted in quite a bit of water finding its way into Puttenahalli Lake, quenching the thirst of the cracking lake bed. Something like a full bottle's water getting poured into one's throat, after a long harsh summer outing. 

As a part of the summer regimen, workmen have been deweeding, and a lot of the water weeds have been taken out. The green around is looking lush. 

For those who do not live in the Puttenahalli Lake vicinity, here are some recent pictures.

6-Jun-2014 Before completion of deweeding

6-Jun-2014 Deweeding in progress

​9-Jun-2014 Lake after deweeding

Pics by Nupur Jain. More pics can be seen here.

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