As Bengaluru witnessed torrential rains, submerging arterial roads, apartment complexes, and homes, several activists alleged that it is the “land mafia that turned the feeder canals of these water bodies into a sewerage and diverted their flow.” Leo F Saldanha, coordinator of Environment Support Group, a Bengaluru-based non-governmental organisation, said, “This mischief by land sharks, in connivance with some vested interests in various civic agencies and in the government, led to the death of lakes in the city.”
He added that Bengaluru, which the British rulers had called a 'city of thousand lakes' for having over 1,600 lakes, is left with only 400 water bodies today in the Bengaluru metropolitan region. "Those lakes which disappeared gave way to residential layouts, bus stands, bus terminals, and tech parks. Sadly, these 400 lakes are also on the verge of destruction," Saldanha told PTI. Citing the example of Subramanyapura lake in south Bengaluru, he said it had reduced to a cesspool and choked with weeds. “One can hardly imagine that barely 15 years ago, people used its water for drinking and taking bath,” he said.
"Ironically, not only did the Bangalore Development Authority develop a layout on another lake 'Venkatarayanakere,' located upstream of Subramanyapura lake, but two massive residential complexes were constructed exactly on the feeder canals of these two lakes," Saldanha alleged. According to Saldanha, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) reduced the width of its feeder canal from 60 ft to a mere 10 ft wide drain in two years. “The feeder canal of the lake carries the sewage of the nearby apartments and residential layouts. The drain does not empty a drop of rainwater into the lake. Instead, it is diverted into the subsidiary of the Vrishabhavathi river. The Vrishabhavathi river is now reduced to a major sewage drain,” Saldanha said.
"It is a fact that the Subramanyapura lake got the attention of the court since 2009 and we are now in 2022. But even with judicial oversight, the rajakaluve (feeder canal of the lake) has been destroyed. Apartments have been constructed. This shows the weakness of the system," he added. Ravi Kumar, a resident of Chikkalasandra in the region, alleged that within a radius of two km of the Subramanyapura lake, land sharks have gobbled up Chikkalasandra lake, Ittamadu lake, and Narayanakere and turned them into a residential layout illegally, while the civic agency finds itself helpless to recover them. "The civic agencies had removed the encroachment on Chikkalasandra lake a few years ago, but the encroachers are back. This time even the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike is parking its garbage vehicles inside the 'lake bed,' allowing others to encroach on it," Kumar alleged.
Due to the heavy downpour in the past week, the Bellandur lake swelled to monstrous proportions, submerging all those areas which were encroached upon. "I live in Bellandur. I am unable to move out due to flooding for the past week. It's been more than 15 years since I moved to this place, but never ever have I experienced such a flood," an executive of a corporate company told PTI requesting anonymity.
A former IAS officer requesting anonymity, said the government is least bothered about the problems of Bengaluru. "The AT Ramaswamy committee report and V Balasubramanian's report 'Greed and Connivance,' are gathering dust in the dingy corners of the government offices. For the politicians and government officers, these reports are like a can of worms, which they don't want to open," he alleged.