Report on Bioblitz at Puttenahalli Lake, Feb 19th, 2023

The morning of 19th Feb was as warm as it has been for the past few days. Bangalore is warming up and everywhere trees are shedding their leaves. It was no different at the Puttenahalli lake where I was with some others, for a bioblitz event. The event coordinator, Sapana briefly talked about the journey of the transformation of the lake - from what it was to what it is today.

Naturalist and PNLIT volunteer Kaustubh Rau led the walk and began by asking us to take a close look at anything that seemed interesting. And indeed there were so many little details that caught the attention of each of one of us be it the colour or the variegations of leaves, the shapes of flowers, the busy and fierce weaver ants, spider web with egg and cocooned prey in it, a leaf with some insect eggs on it, the pattern in which the branches of a tree were arranged, the names of the different trees and how or why they were named so or the different water birds with their distinct calls. All these observations led to further questioning and learning not only pertaining to flora & fauna but connected to other areas of history, geography, and economy.

With PNLIT Trustee Nupur joining us, the commitment and sense of ownership were evident when she and Sapana spoke about certain trees. How many of us will have such stories to share? I wondered. We, the participants, were lucky too to get these few hours to stop thinking of our own lives and observe the world and lives of our co habitants at the lake. I hope to come back and see the changes that happen during the different seasons.

Thank you for this experience.

Archna, J.P Nagar

Pic Credits: SK Srinivas and Aishwarya S

Report of Family Fun Gardening Day at Puttenahalli lake, JP Nagar, Feb 4th @ 9:30am

We had 4 young kids and 4 adults taking part in this month's Family Fun Gardening Day at Puttenahalli lake. The youngsters were excited to see different types of leaves and insects around them, while we adults - who raked, trimmed and added manure to the plants - enjoyed their innocence and remembered our own childhood days!

Here is what one of the participants has to say:

The gardening activity along the banks of the Puttenahalli lake this Saturday (4 February 2023) took me back to my roots for a few hours - to our ancestral home in a remote island in the Sundarbans surrounded by lush green and waterbodies. It brought back memories of those wonderful days of innocence, when I was closer to nature and often overwhelmed by its sheer beauty. I felt like one of those little ones who had joined us -- curious and excited about our surroundings. And I felt very happy from within. I am glad that I took part in the activity.

Thank you to the entire team of PNLIT that is driving this initiative. You are doing an incredible job of improving our environment and making our world a better place to live. I look forward to joining you in future activities. Thanks again.

---Supriyo, a resident of South City

Thank you,

Sapana

PNLIT Event Coordinator

(Pic credits - Ramu, PNLIT Gardener)

February Family Fun Gardening Day at Puttenahalli Lake JP Nagar

"Bringing the community together" gardening session at the lake will happen on 4th Feb 2023 (Saturday).

The first Saturday of every month is 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, and more.  

Make the most of your neighbourhood lake. Join us on Saturday, 4th February between 9.30 a.m. and 11 a.m. for the Family Fun Gardening Saturday.

No registration required. Just come and enjoy nature!

PNLIT Newsletter-Jan 2023

Dear friends, 

Let's begin the New Year with some exciting articles and news from our lake in this issue.
Click here to view the newsletter:

We look forward to your comments, and suggestions. We welcome your technical help too!
Do write to the Editor to <ripplespnlit@gmail.com>
Happy reading!

Mrs. Vijayalakshmi Kutty
Editor, Ripples
PNLIT

Report on the first Family Fun Gardening Day of 2023

We are happy to share with you this report on our first Family Fun Gardening Day for 2023. It has been written by Mihika (14 yrs) who lives in the vicinity of Puttenahalli Puttakere. 

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After a gap of 4 years and more, this Saturday on 7th January 2023, we woke up early in the morning, excited to visit Puttenahalli Lake. In spite of the cold weather my sister, mother, five of my friends and I were gung-ho about spending our weekend sweating it out for a cause. We had attended the Family Fun Gardening Day at Puttenahalli Lake a few years back, before Covid, and we were really excited to go again.

At first I was nervous to meet new people and socialise but when we arrived, Sapana, Divya and Rashmi aunty from PNLIT, made us feel at home and the head gardener Ramu uncle guided us on the proper ways to complete the tasks at hand. Though there were not as many people like the earlier times we were eager to get going, so with a jump and skip we started.

The lake has become more beautiful since the last time we visited! It was now filled to the brim due to good rainfall over the past 4-5 months. We saw so many different birds enjoying the sun. I still remember the lake being dry earlier and this was such a happy contrast! I am not a regular visitor to the lake and I was soaking in the atmosphere but there was work to be done!

We started off with raking the dry leaves to clear the garden a bit, then we cut off the excess leaves growing off the hedges, after that we removed the weeds growing in the garden area. Ramu uncle guided us throughout and showed us how to do each of these tasks. It was hard work but we did take the customary selfie breaks and photo sessions.

After finishing all the tasks we were really tired but we truly enjoyed our time here. We had been so engrossed that we hadn’t looked at the clock! Those 2 + hours of work just didn’t feel like 120 minutes of raking, cleaning and deweeding. All of us had so much fun and didn't want to leave. This was the best start to a weekend!

We will surely attend the upcoming gardening events as it is truly great fun. I will also visit the lake on a regular basis. Thanks a ton to PNLIT for a memorable experience.

Mihika

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  

Restarting our Family Fun Gardening Day in the new year

After a gap of almost 3 years, Bringing the community together gardening session at Puttenahalli lake, JP Nagar is back from January 2023!

PNLIT has made the first Saturday of every month open to you to exercise your green thumb; to introduce your children to gardening; to work together with your family; to destress; to discover the small pleasures of plants; to be one with nature, and more. So make the most of your neighbourhood lake.

Join us on Saturday, 7th January between 9.30 a.m. and 11 a.m. for the Family Fun Gardening Saturday.

No registration required. Just come with your water bottle, cap and comfortable shoes to enjoy the outdoors!

The biggest challenge yet for Puttenahalli Lake - Update

 If you noticed, we have not been sending you lake updates as often as before. This is because from March 2021 we have been in the thick of our biggest challenge - getting the authorities to protect Puttenahalli Puttakere from encroachers. 

Our endeavour to rehabilitate the slum dwellers (some 40 families in 2010 now grown to 119) so that their quality of life may improve in better housing elsewhere began in 2008.  Each time we think we are on the verge of achieving this goal, our hope crashes. We pick ourselves up because we owe it to Puttakere itself and to you, our well-wishers, volunteers, and donors who have stood by us all these years. 

You can read a short account of our struggle in this link: https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/bangalore/lakes-of-bengaluru-maintained-local-residents-puttenahalli-citizens-lake-8264383/ 

In essence, on 15th July 2022, a two-member bench of the Karnataka High Court passed an order on our writ petition directing BBMP to remove the encroachment at Puttenahalli Lake and submit a compliance report. As soon as they received the eviction notice, the slum dwellers filed a WP (20300/2022) in the High Court and obtained a stay order. When informed of this, the bench orally directed BBMP on 24/11/2022 to get the stay vacated. 

Our uncertainty continues but we are encouraged by the Judges coming down heavily on the authorities for not protecting lakes, buffer zones and storm water drains from encroachments. Also, since lake related cases have been clubbed together, the hearings have been happening fairly frequently. The last was on 1st December and the next will be on the 7th. You can read the orders and follow our WP 4964/2021 on the Karnataka Judiciary website.

Wish us well!

Best regards

PNLIT team

Biolblitz at the lake - scheduled

The next bioblitz at Puttenahalli Lake will be conducted on Sunday, 11th December between 9:30 am-11.00 am.

What: A bioblitz is a short but intense session in which participants do a biological survey of a particular area and record all the living creatures in that space.

Why: A bioblitz serves two purposes. Over a time period it allows the surveying of the biodiversity in an area. This biodiversity can be documented on a citizen-science platform such as iNaturalist (inaturalist.org) making this information available to all. Second, a bioblitz is a fun way of getting people, particularly children interested in nature and conservation issues. They also learn important skills of observation, identification and documentation.

How: All you need is an interest in nature and a notebook and pencil to record your observations. A camera is also preferred for documentation but not a requirement. We do a slow walk in a particular area of the lake and record all the living creatures we find. These include mosses, herbs, shrubs, trees, flowers, lichen, insects, birds and animals.

All observations are uploaded on the Puttenahalli Lake project page on iNaturalist . All participants could sign-up for a free account on iNaturalist. (This procedure will be explained at the time of the event).

Who: Any person who is 12+ years and interested in the natural world can join us for this event. 10+ old kids could also join in provided they are accompanied by an adult. We are taking upto 20 participants only.

By Whom: The session will be led by Dr. Kaustubh Rau, a biologist, a naturalist and a PNLIT volunteer.

When and Where: December 11th, 9:30 am - 11.00 am at the Lake gazebo.

Register by filling the form - https://forms.gle/dHw3JS2uYGQf4SQH6

This event is free. Do register asap to avoid disappointment!

Thank you,

Sapana Rawat
PNLIT Events Coordinator

Puttenahalli Lake then and now

Seeing our lake everyday is like seeing one's child and not realizing how much the baby has grown. To remind ourselves, we occasionally browse through old photographs. See the evolution of  Puttenahalli Puttakere in just three frames.  

July 2009 (Pic: Usha Rajagopalan)

Oct 2011 (Pic: Seetha Nagaraj)

Sep 2022 (Pic: Nupur Jain)

Our sincere thanks to everyone who made this transformation possible and we look forward to your continued support. 

Best regards

PNLIT team