Hennagara Lake is being filled with trucks of soil.
Special arrangement
Hennagara Lake near Electronic City – which was constantly fed with industrial effluents – is in trouble yet again. Hundreds of trucks are making a beeline to the lake on a daily basis, filling the live waterbody with fresh soil. Residents, who live close to the 330-acre lake, are worried that the unchecked dumping of soil could leave their homes flooded.
Over the past year, it’s estimated that no fewer than 10,000 trucks of soil were dumped into the water to raise the ground’s elevation. This is also evident as the Jigani - Bommasandra link road has turned muddy and the soil has expanded into the water body at least by 300 metres to half a kilometre. Residents say trees were cut and hyacinth was also cleared in a bid to change the nature of the land.
A glance through the Revenue Department’s Dishaank application shows the lake, which falls under Jigani Hobli and Anekal Taluk, has got four survey numbers. Residents suspect the soil is being dumped and leveled on the survey number, which is a part of the lake but shows under the name of Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB).
“When we brought to light the illegal dumping of soil, different authorities have shared contradicting responses. The panchayat has pointed out that it belongs to a prominent builder while records show the KIADB is the custodian of that area. In all possibilities, the records of lake land have been tampered with,” Tushar Chandra, who is part of Vrikshamitra Foundation and a resident of the area, said.
Another resident recounted the number of trucks parked on the lakebed during Ayudha Puja, highlighting the potential impact of soil dumping on nearby areas.
Videos of earthmovers dumping soil into the water body have gone viral on social media, with some netizens questioning the government’s commitment to safeguarding the water body.
“Tomorrow if Bengaluru sinks like Chennai then don’t cry! This is how it’s done! Hennagara Lake, Jigani is being filled by the Real Estate Mafia to reclaim land for a private villa project,” Citizens Movement, East Bengaluru, posted on X (formerly Twitter).
When contacted, the panchayat development officer of Hennagara said the tahsildar went to the spot on Thursday and stopped the dumping of soil. “We will have to restore the lake. What happened is just illegal. We will also be booking a case against the encroachers,” he said.
Anekal Tahashildar Shivappa Lamani did not respond to calls.