"A huge monster like formation rose out of the Puttenhalli Lake, causing a sensation. It turned out to be unscrupulously dumped sewage and industrial waste. The water body is stinking. Puttenhalli is just one case…"
- Friday, June 14th, 2003. Excerpt from a Regional Language Newspaper.
Geethapria felt troubled and unhappy as she raised her head from the newspaper she had been reading. The Puttenhalli Lake was what her house overlooked and for days they had been seeing the dump rise to the surface like an ancient demon come to life. Worse still, they had been smelling it too.
People had stood around and talked but nothing seemed to be happening. The Lake lay before her shimmering and quivering in the sunlight. It seemed, as if it was greatly troubled inside.
She remembered one evening, a few years before her grandfather’s death. They had been sitting near the same window. Her grandfather had been telling her stories about his past. How they used to swim in the lake, how beautiful and clear the water was then. He had said in those days the city had 260 lakes. But now just around a hundred of them were barely surviving, and only half of them were real water bodies.
Unfortunately, according to what she had just read, nearly 90 per cent of Bangalore's lakes were on the verge of extinction. The dissolved oxygen content of the water in the city's lakes had gone below the desired level and most of the lakes were infested with weeds. Garbage collected from houses went there too. In fact the ‘Dhobis’ also did their washing there. It was a convenient dustbin for children to throw packets of the chips they ate.
Pristine had been replaced by ugly.
From being a lake, it had turned into a filthy tank of water. Her grandfather had expressed his sadness over it right till his end but her father, like all other people busy in making a living used to give it a disgusted look and drive right past it. The spirit of the Puttenhalli Lake seemed to be dying. It was ailing and she felt it was calling out to her to help it breathe.
As she cycled to her school the Government High School, Police Colony, her mind was swirling with these thoughts. In school, her friends Mahesh and Vijaya shree who also lived nearby, seemed equally troubled at the plight of the dying lake.
In break they read up on it. What they read stunned them. It was the plight not only of their lake, but nearly all the lakes of Bangalore. “Nearly 90 per cent of Bangalore's lakes are on the verge of extinction and the dissolved oxygen content of the water in the city's lakes has gone below the desired level of 4mg/lt due to organic pollution, a study conducted by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has revealed.
In the last period, her teacher Ms.Vinutha G walked in carrying the same newspaper Geethepriya had read in the morning. Geethapriya looked up with interest. Her teacher told them she had been training under the Intel® Teach Program. Under this, she was required to do a project (PBL methodology) with the children in her school.
She had been reading the paper and felt they could do a project on the Lakes of Bangalore. With this project they could not only be collaborating as a team, working and learning together but also be heard on an issue they felt strongly about.
In fact she was very keen that they voice their opinion on the lakes of Bangalore since she felt it was a way to prompt some action from the government and make the public aware.
‘Are any of the children interested?’ Geethapriya excitedly raised her hand. Interestingly, so did more than half the class. Suddenly the class was a babble of voices. Apparently the topic the teacher had chosen was something most students and their families felt strongly about but didn’t know what to do.
Intel it seemed had provided them a platform. Not only to work collaboratively but also to fight for a cause that concerned the community.
Geethapriya Mahesh and Vijaya shree felt elated. There seemed to be a glimmer of hope. Walking back, Geethapriya wanted to tell the lake spirit to be strong and hold on, tell all the Lakes to have hope. That, they would help. But it seemed too tired, like the spirit was sinking fast.
Next day the students were allotted groups. They had to assume roles and interview people then submit their reports. They had decided to target 4 lakes in Bangalore. Kengeri Lake Sankey Lake, Herohalli Lake and the Puttenahalli Lake.
They began by visiting the Pollution control board, the Lake Development Authority and collecting information on the history of lakes in Bangalore. One group visited the lakes to study the environment and collect the water samples. These were then given for a quality test at TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute) Lab. Another team visited the Centre for Ecological Sciences IISC Bangalore and collected information and guidance from them.
Within the next two weeks they did a lot of research online and interviewed people. After school, they would stay back and look up facts on the internet and also type out reports of their work.
In their final report, they concluded that the environment of the lakes was very debilitating Industrial effluents were let out from the industries into the lake with out filtering, which made the surroundings very dirty .Domestic Garbage sometimes even idols are immersed in the lakes. All lakes had a foul smell emitting from them.
Further, encroachment, disfiguring by brick/tile industries, waste disposal activities and bad management threatened the very existence of these lakes, thereby posing a serious threat to the flora and fauna supported by them.
After compiling their report the team, led by their enthusiastic teacher decided to make a multimedia presentation by incorporating pictures and statistics of their research. This would also have their suggestions on how to rejuvenate what was being systematically destroyed-The Lakes.
Feverishly, the children worked on their presentation over the next two months. They had also begun mailing their plea to all the people they knew.
The aim of their presentation was to make the public aware and also provide practical suggestions on how to protect and conserve the lakes. Simple steps like cleaning up the garbage around the lakes, planting more trees around the water front would go a long way in restoring the natural beauty of the lakes.
In conclusion, their presentation pointed out how the wetlands of Bangalore were of vital importance. They alone could sustain the floral and faunal diversity of the city. Most importantly they were an integral part of the history and identity of the city.
This project was shared with the other teachers and students of their school and with the officials from Pollution Control Board, Lake Development Authority, and Centre for Ecological Sciences IISC Bangalore, TERI Lab. The project was deemed creditable work and greatly appreciated. Even people like her parents were now keen that something should be done to save the lakes. They were especially impressed by the effective use of technology.
The children had struck a chord. The project was showcased at different functions and competitions. The students were invited by “Haseeru Useeru” an NGO, to present and explain the presentation to their staff. Their efforts were greatly applauded.
These children from a small school were now big news. Regional newspapers had covered the laudable work done by them. In recognition of the impact they were making they were requested to present their work at the GETIT conference to be held in Bangalore.
Geethapriya felt confident that now her lake would survive. Something would be done. People had sat up and taken notice.
They had made a difference.
That evening as she passed by the lake, the gentle breeze blowing over her, seemed to thank her from the spirit of the lake. Like the genial spirit seemed to be once more watching over them with a big smile on his amiable face.
If technology and human endeavor can change the plight of a few lakes, why not the others???
There is a Puttenhalli lake around all of us.....
