Sluice gate installation stalls; BBMP's inaction draws criticism

Last year's monsoon exposed significant gaps in lake management within the city. More than 100 lakes overflowed, causing floods in low-lying areas. Despite the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) announcing measures to address these gaps, little progress has been made on the ground over the past year.

Although the then Chief Minister, Basavaraj Bommai, and the BBMP had announced the installation of sluice gates in approximately 162 lakes to control water flow, the BBMP has yet to implement this plan.

"As of now, the installation of sluice gates has been approved only for 10 lakes. Of these, work is in progress in three lakes. In the next two weeks, Rachenahalli Lake, Doddanekundi Lake, and Jakkur Lake will get a sluice gate. Approval for the remaining 100 plus lakes is yet to come through," said a senior BBMP official working with the lakes department.

Activists believe that the civic body has been slow in executing the project.

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"In Varthur Lake, we have seen how helpful the sluice gates can be. Even though we have an example on hand, it has not been implemented in any other lake. We have been trying to get the sluice gate installed in Madiwala Lake for nearly a decade now. Let alone installation of new sluice gates, in many lakes, during the rejuvenation, the engineers have removed the existing sluice gates," said Ramprasad V from the Friends of Lakes (FOL).

In addition to sluice gates, the BBMP must also undertake pre-monsoon work at the lakes to ensure unobstructed water flow. However, most lake inlets remain filled with silt and garbage.

"There have been hardly any pre-monsoon activities. The inlets, outlets, and diversion channels need to be de-silted and the garbage has to be removed to ensure smooth water flow. That has not been done in any of the lakes. Though the BBMP earmarks funds for maintenance of every lake, they only clean the walking path and do not worry about the most crucial areas– the inlets, outlets, and the diversion channels," said Raghavendra B Pacchapur, programme manager, ActionAid Association India.

Balaji Raghotham Bali, a lake activist involved in voluntary work at around 13 lakes near KR Puram, emphasized that poor maintenance of stormwater drains (SWDs) was the root cause of the issue.

"It is evident that silt and garbage accumulated in the SWDs eventually flow into the lake inlets, blocking them. These inlets are not regularly maintained or cleaned. After every rainfall, you can witness significant amounts of plastic and garbage accumulated at the Seegehalli Lake inlet," Bali explained.

He further noted that the BBMP had failed to periodically desilt the lakes, leading to a decrease in their holding capacity.

BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath acknowledged the delay in installing sluice gates but mentioned ongoing efforts to pump out water from the lakes and closely monitor their water levels.

"The installation of sluice gates is taking time. However, in the next 2-3 days we will manually pump out the water from a few lakes. The strategy is to pump out water from the lakes upstream when it's not raining and as a result, the lakes will have the capacity to hold more water when it rains. We are actively working towards it," Girinath said.