Time to mend fences BBMP, this lake is dying

It’s been an uphill struggle for K.R. Puram residents and activists as they attempt to clean up Gangashetty Lake. A fence put up in February by the BBMP, after years of appeals to take action, was brought down by the land mafia recently.

Y. Maheshwara Reddy | NT

Bengaluru: K.R. Puram residents and activists awoke to a nasty surprise recently – the fence built around Gangashetty Lake only 11 months earlier had been torn down. It was a brazen act of non-compliance, an apparent attempt to continue the rampant encroachment that has been taking place for years around the lake bed. The BBMP relented in January 2021 after years of appeals made by residents and activists, announcing plans to develop the lake at a cost of Rs 4 crore, conduct a survey to make note of the encroachments and build a fence too – which they did. It was the culmination of a battle that had lasted over a decade, with residents and activists alike doing the proverbial run from pillar-to-post, trying to get authorities interested in the lake. In February 2021, the area was finally fenced off.

“We have been at this for over a decade, trying to get authorities to clear encroachments around the lake bed,” said Balaji Raghotham, a lake activist. “Authorities did not respond to our pleas till last February due to reasons best known to them. Finally, they not only surveyed the lake but also put up a fence about seven months ago.”

After all this, pulling down the fence is an indication of a brazen land mafia that shows no fear for the law as well as the inability of the authorities to act sternly against them. “The land mafia and elected representatives are hand-inglove,” said Yele Srinivas, President of the K.R. Puram Market Association. “Attempts have been made for a long time to grab land around the lakebed. If authorities fail to make sincere efforts to clear encroachments, land that is worth crores of rupees will be usurped by the mafia. I demand that authorities concerned restore the fence without succumbing to political pressure.”The battle to stop encroachments at Gangashetty Lake and bring some semblance of order to the surrounding areas has continued for years with a series of hurdles crossed over the better part of a decade. This included cleaning large piles of debris and garbage – until late 2020, lazy residents and unscrupulous contractors would dump garbage and construction debris in the bund. Dust collected by mechanical sweeping machines was also thrown there. Residents did object to the latter, however and the mess was cleaned up. “It took seven months for us to convince BBMP health officials to clear the mounds of dust. It was done but authorities still haven’t reclaimed the encroached lake land,” says Sreeram M, a K.R. Puram resident. “We have been appealing to the BBMP and the Tahsildar to ensure that Gangashetty Lake is made free from land mafia,” he explained.

On February 22, 2021, the Tahsildar of Bengaluru East issued a circular emphasising the need to clear encroachments on lake land to avoid flooding in the adjacent areas during the monsoon. The Tahsildar claimed that a survey would be conducted on February 25 in a response to appeals made by Bharath Janavadi Mahila Sanghatana, The Federation of Karnataka Farmers and Traders and Karunada Sevakaru, to Byrathi Basavaraj, who was Urban Development Minister at the time.

K.R. Puram resident Vishnu Prasad came down heavily on the Tahsildar, the police and the BBMP Lakes Department for not taking stern action against those responsible for removing the fence.

“Encroachers have no fear of the authorities,” he said. “And that’s not surprising when the Tahsildar is unable to protect a lake situated opposite his office.” Residents complain that elected representatives have prevented authorities from clearing a slum that has come up on lake land.

“Politicians across parties have prevented revenue authorities from clearing the slum. They don’t want to lose slum-dwellers’ votes,” said environmentalist Paramesh S.

While an executive engineer of BBMP Lakes Department has promised to visit Gangashetty Lake, Bengaluru East Tahsildar was not available for comment.