Kengeri Lake turns into bureaucratic soup

By Deepashri Varadharajan

BANGALORE (Sept. 8)—Kengeri Lake is deserted, discolored, littered, covered with hyacinth, and is a breeding ground for millions of mosquitoes.

Meanwhile, the municipal corporation, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, and the forest department continue to pass the buck by holding each other responsible for its upkeep.

Forest department blames BBMP

Kanwarlal, secretary of the Forest, Ecology and Environment Department, told The SoftCopy that the lake was transferred to the urban department of BBMP on April 19, 2010, as per state government orders.

“They [BBMP authorities] have to rejuvenate, maintain and conserve it. They came forward to take responsibility [but have not done so],” Kanwarlal said.

His statement was seconded by Uday Vir Singh, chief conservator of forests at the Lake Development Authority. But he said he did not know if it has been “physically handed over” to the BBMP.

BBMP denies charges

B.V. Satish, chief engineer of the BBMP’s Environmental Cell, said: “The lake is still under the forest department. When the government gives orders, BDA [Bangalore Development Authority] will take it over from them.”

The public relations officer at BBMP, S.S. Khandre, said the BBMP had not taken up any development work there as the lake is not under its management.

Lake continues to deteriorate

Apart from college students who occasionally come here for boating, the lake sees few visitors.
A local resident said the lake waters have not been cleaned for over two years.

Anand, a local worker who said he was in charge of boating and plant maintenance at the lake, said he receives his salary from “Arinya Ilake [forest department]”.

He could not explain why the department pays him when it has clearly said the lake is no longer under its care.