The New Indian Express           11.12.2013

Vibhutipura Lake, located near old HAL airport, at Lal Bahadur
Shastri Nagar, Varthur, is another lake among many, that’s getting a
face lift this year. “A few years ago when we first shifted here, this
was a beautiful lake with clean water, with migratory birds coming in
and people used to also fish in the lake. Now this 43 acres lake has
shrunk with garbage and debris being dumped here. It has become a sewage
pit. Now that the restoration has begun, we hope that the lake will
regain its lost beauty,” said Madhu Ashok, a resident of LB Shastri
Nagar. A walkathon is being organised by VIKAS, a resident’s group on
December 14 at the lake to speed up the process of restoration. “The
contractor has been given a one year contract, at the end of which, all
the points listed in the detailed project report must be completed. The
bunds need to be fixed, the island formation needs to be completed and a
walking track needs to be built. Once the water table is recharged,
people can once again start using the water from the lake for household
purposes,” said a VIKAS member. Ashok Gowda, BDA Engineer assured that
most of the work has already been completed. “The island work is nearly
completed, even the walkway is 90 per cent done. Most of the work that’s
remaining is related to the clearance of the encroachment, which the
Tahsildar is responsible for. By March, the rejuvenation should be more
or less done,” he said. The main aim of VIKAS is to increase awareness
among the people. Once the BDA completes its rejuvenation project, the
group has taken up the responsibility to take over the maintenance of
the lake.

ABOUT VIKAS

In 2006, Uthkarsh, a residents’ group
of the LB Shastri Nagar was formed, with the aim to motivate residents
and government officials to improve the quality of life in the locality.
Soon a lake team was formed to pursue the forest department and the
government, to take initiatives to save the lake. In 2011, the lake was
handed over to the BDA. A walkathon was organised on November 3, 2012,
to create some noise regarding the degradation of the lake. Attended by
over 500 people, including BDA/ BBMP official, MLA and corporator, the
walkathon led to the formation of VIKAS – which works with officials and
the government to save the lake. Restoration work by the BDA began in
Feb 2013.