The Agara lake takes the cake!

Residents say that it has been years since any official visited the lake or bothered to take any initiative for its cleaning and desilting. In fact, over the years, the number of visitors to the lake has come down.

Govind Raj, who is an old resident of HSR Layout and has been visiting the lake for years, points out, “For someone who has seen this lake 10 years ago, its present status is a shock. We used to see a variety of birds here and children would come here to stroll along the lake with their parents. Today, there’s so much filth in and around the lake, that it is highly dangerous for our children’s health to bring them here. This is not the lake that we used to see. It has shrunk tremendously. The catchment areas of the lake have been encroached upon heavily by buildings while the authorities remain numb.” And dumb.

Voicing a similar opinion, Rashmi Kumari S, a resident from HSR Layout points out, “This lake that was flowing with water five years ago, today has hardly any water. There’s sewage tangled up with the weeds underneath, on the lake bed. While the government agencies are blind to all this and not bothered about the state of the lake, citizens’ groups have been fighting lone battles to protect the lake. The ‘Save Agara Lake’ community also made many futile attempts to save the lake, but there seems to be nobody from the government who is willing to come forward and take the responsibility.”

In 2004, Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) handed the lake to the Lake Development Authority (LDA) and they in turn handed over the lake to a private firm for maintenance.

Subsequently the lake has shrunk to 98 acres from 128 acres. Rajeev Nayak, a resident from HSR Layout sector 1 says, “Today, the lake has become a hub for anti-social elements as there is no one to take care of it. I have seen people littering the lake premises and even using it for toilet purposes. Currently the lake is covered with weeds and sewage. It needs urgent desilting. It is high time the authorities woke up and did something about it!”