Visitors of Madiwala lake continue to witness declining health of the water body as dead fish start bobbing up in its waters due to a lack of consistent and proper maintenance.
Mohish felt the leaves crunch under his feet as he walked across the banks of the Madiwala lake. The once-manicured lanes were now littered with dead leaves as far as the eye could see, and a little bit farther than that.
He spotted something glistening in the water and he made his way closer to the upraised edges of the bank.There he saw sunlight reflected off the scales of a fish’s corpse, which bobbed as if it were weightless. This was the third dead fish he had seen on his weekly excursions to the lake.
“I often see dead fish and dead leaves on my walks across Madiwala lake these past few weeks,” Mohish said.
Ever since the Forest Department had handed over Madiwala lake to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahangara Palike (BBMP), complaints about lack of maintenance have been commonplace from visitors.
“It’s as if all they do here is keep the gates open for visitors,” Mohish said.
There is also the issue of overflowing garbage with heaps of garbage lining the side of the bank where people are unable to walk, thrown by passers-by who find it a convenient dump.
The BBMP has stated that it lacks the funds to clean up and maintain the park ever since it was handed over the reins from the Forest Department who had also complained about a similar lack of funds.
“We will float the tender for the undertaking of Madiwala lake development after the elections to avoid discrepancies with the election’s model code of conduct,” Vijaykumar Haridas, the Chief Engineer of Lakes for the BBMP said.
There has been a steady trickle-down of responsibility for lake development from both the Bangalore Development Authority and the Forest Department down to the BBMP due to a reported lack of funding.
The BBMP had recently acquired ownership of Madiwala, Nagawara and Hebbal lakes but it also has been given ownership and management responsibilities of over 40 lakes since 2020 with as many as 100 lakes slowly being transferred to the department as early as 2016.
The BBMP currently manages 216 lakes; this move was widely opposed by many local environmentalists who doubted the BBMP’s ability to maintain the lakes, citing both its lack of knowledge regarding ecology and the environment and also its burgeoning financial woes when it comes to maintainance and rejuvenation.
“We still have trouble acquiring funding for renovation of lakes such as Hebbal and Nagawara,” Haridas said.
Vijaykumar Haridas has emphasized an eco-friendly approach to the development of Madiwala lake.
“We will be avoiding concretization of the lake and leave the biodiversity untouched, we might even add to the biodiversity if necessary,” he said.
Krishna M.B a local ornithologist and lake expert, recommended various solutions that could be implemented.
“The authorities should avoid using ornamental plants and should instead use floating plants, and reed beds while developing the water body,” Krishna said.
He also recommended populating the banks of the lake with emergent trees in order to improve it’s biodiversity.
