Doddabidarakallu lake deteriorates as desilting, sewage diversion come to standstill

Bengaluru: Residents living around Doddabidarakallu lake in Nagasandra rejoiced when the BBMP began desilting the waterbody, happy that their decade-long fight to rejuvenate the lake was finally giving results.

But just six months into the work, the contractor abandoned the project since the BBMP did not clear his bills outstanding for eight months. The lake now looks worse than before.

Last October, the BBMP sanctioned Rs 6 crore to develop Doddabidarakallu, the first major fund allocation for the lake since the civic body took charge of the lake in 2019-20.

The project entailed desilting, strengthening the bund, constructing the walkway, and forming the wetland, among other things.

Residents in the area said that the contractor initially deployed several vehicles to transport the silt out of the lake.

“There has been no activity ever since the assembly elections,” a resident said.

Subhash Shetty, who lives in an apartment closer to the lake, said the odour coming from the lake is so bad that he could not stand it for five minutes. He said the work to divert sewage has been stopped abruptly.

“The pipes laid near the lake are broken. Some good work has happened with respect to desilting, but no resident is able to walk around the lake as it is in such a pathetic condition. It has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes,” Shetty said.

After residents collectively fought to evict encroachments on the lake, the BBMP initially sanctioned Rs 1 crore to fence the lake. But some portions of the 40 acres and 17 guntas of the waterbody are still encroached.

The lake breached in 2019 and flooded close to 500 houses. A year later, the BBMP sanctioned an additional Rs 5 crore to divert sewage from the lake. The work remains incomplete.

Indicating the lake’s poor condition was a 2.3-star rating on Google, where many have pointed to poor upkeep and pollution.