In Doddagubbi, a leap of faith
Photo by Kaushik JN/MMCL
Highlights
- Residents plan to declare area around lake a ‘sacred grove’
- The Doddagubbi Lake which is believed to date back to the time of the Pandavas will get native plants to revive the lake bed naturally. A good idea for all of Bengaluru?
By Reya Mehrotra
Like early man who equated the forces of Nature with God, it looks like that is the only option left with us to save our tree cover. In th e name of God and all that’s holy,Bengaluru will soon have a Devara Kadu (sacred forest) near the Doddagubbi Lake .
According to the team of volunteers who have come together to revive the Doddagubbi Lake and its surroundings, the idea of a sacred forest is to get people to see the divine in Nature, and to treat it with respect.
The Lake, which is believed to date back to the time of thePandavas , has been revered by the locals. The setting up of a sacred forest seems like a logical progression where myth, lore and modern interventions converge.
The lake, say residents, was once, and not very long ago, a repository of A-grade drinking water and a place which would attract a wide variety of birds. Over the years and with apartments coming up around the lake, untreated sewage water and water from a nearby laundry and other effluents flowing into the Lake are destroying it and the vegetation around it.
Ravi Shah, who lives near the lake and has earned the reputation of single-handedly reviving parts of the lake, is one of the volunteers. Says Shah, “We have attempted planting trees around the Lake several times but their survival is not very high. People come here, uproot and destroy plants. By creating a Devara Kadu (sacred forest), we will help people respect plants and preserve the habitat. We have also been encouraging the residents to come and worship the Lake. Nature gives us everything and we should respect her.”
Plant a forest
The Devara Kadu will come up in 5 to 10 acres near the lake and will have all native trees, informs Noor Fathima, a volunteer in the team. The native trees will include Ashoka trees, mango trees, neem trees, banyan trees, peepal trees etc. Before the monsoons, the group is preparing to lay seedballs near the lake.
A bird sanctuary?
Doddagubbi lake finds a mention in renowned ornithologist and conservationist, Zafar Futehally’s report in 1990 titled, ‘Doddagubbi: The Case of an Overused Lake’. The lake was his favourite place for bird watching and he wrote that it would benefit both the rural population and wildlife if the lake was kept in a good condition. He had in fact also suggested that the lake be made into a bird sanctuary because of its rich flora and fauna. In order to fulfill his dream, the residents are making efforts to convert the lake into a bird sanctuary by planting trees native to this region. However since the past decade, it has been encroached and garbage has been dumped here. The lake has no Sewage Treatment Plant and falls under the jurisdiction of the Panchayat. The Panchayat has also started clearing up the rajakaluve after a meeting with the residents.
Bollachettira Dhyan Appachu, one of the 40 members of the volunteer group says, “Once upon a time, bird watchers would flock to this Lake. But ever since apartments started coming up in the periphery of the lake, the flora and fauna have depleted. The water is polluted as the untreated sewage water from the apartments is directly let into the Lake. It contains sanitary waste as well. The Lake was earlier spread across 150 acres of land but most of it is encroached now. We have taken many steps to bring it back to life now.”
In 2016, Lake Development Authority had also written to the government to declare it as a wetland and bird sanctuary. However, nothing materialized after that, says the volunteers.
Appachu adds, “We want to re-establish the original boundary of the lake and develop it into a bird sanctuary. A survey of the lake and de-silting needs to be done next. Because of negligence, the lake has become a hub of illegal activities.”
The group has started collecting funds for their activities. Some funds have also been collected through auctioning of paintings by artist Faizal Ali, one of the members of the group. A part of the funds raised from the sale of Ali’s paintings will be ploughed into development of the lake and making of the sacred forest.
Noor Fathima, a part of the team says, “I am promoting the use of bio enzymes as cleansers and chemical-free substances at homes so that the water that flows into the lake is not harmful. For instance, soaps can be substituted with gram flour.”
BU steps in
Dr Inayathulla M fromBangalore University and his students are surveying the Lake to assess and suggest corrective measures. Mohan Singh Rajput, a final year Masters student from BU, is preparing a report on the water quality of the Lake.
Anand Malligavad, another activist working for the lake, wants to take the natural route. He says, “We won’t need an STP if a natural filtration system is put in place. This includes planting aquatic plants in thelake bed and creating separate channels for sewage and rainwater. I am also trying to bring in native aquatic plants that can survive in any weather conditions.” An experiential learning centre is also being planned once the lake is revived.
Encroachments
After multiple encroachments that have taken place at the Lake, the volunteers have prepared a map to notify the authorities about them. These include a school in the buffer zone of the lake, two major apartment complexes, the boundary of a layout constructed recently that extends into lake boundary, a villa in the buffer zone... Large scale dumping of debris, piles of glass wool and waste from the nearby apartment complexes also takes place in the buffer zone. A water treatment plant near the lake, supplying drinking water to homes, has led to drying up of three of the ten bore wells in Doddagubbi. Another major encroachment includes a road that has come up near the lake. Locals too have encroached a part of the lake.
‘Cities need green spaces, notDevara Kadus ’
Meera Rajesh, who has been working on restoring Devara Kadus in Coorg feels that urban cities hardly have spaces for Devara Kadus and must instead focus on retaining and preserving the existing greenery. She says, “A city like Bengaluru needs green parks like Cubbon Park and Lalbagh where human interaction is possible. In some Devara Kadus, people are permitted to enter only barefoot and at some other Devara Kadus, people are not allowed, as it is considered a sacred space. A Devara Kadu also needs lots of space which urban cities lack. Hence there is a need to preserve the existing greenery and not plant trees after cutting them down in lung spaces like Cubbon Park.”
Like early man who equated the forces of Nature with God, it looks like that is the only option left with us to save our tree cover. In th e name of God and all that’s holy,
According to the team of volunteers who have come together to revive the Doddagubbi Lake and its surroundings, the idea of a sacred forest is to get people to see the divine in Nature, and to treat it with respect.
The Lake, which is believed to date back to the time of the
The lake, say residents, was once, and not very long ago, a repository of A-grade drinking water and a place which would attract a wide variety of birds. Over the years and with apartments coming up around the lake, untreated sewage water and water from a nearby laundry and other effluents flowing into the Lake are destroying it and the vegetation around it.
Ravi Shah, who lives near the lake and has earned the reputation of single-handedly reviving parts of the lake, is one of the volunteers. Says Shah, “We have attempted planting trees around the Lake several times but their survival is not very high. People come here, uproot and destroy plants. By creating a Devara Kadu (sacred forest), we will help people respect plants and preserve the habitat. We have also been encouraging the residents to come and worship the Lake. Nature gives us everything and we should respect her.”
We have also been encouraging the residents to come and worship the lake. Nature gives us everything and we should respect her
Plant a forest
The Devara Kadu will come up in 5 to 10 acres near the lake and will have all native trees, informs Noor Fathima, a volunteer in the team. The native trees will include Ashoka trees, mango trees, neem trees, banyan trees, peepal trees etc. Before the monsoons, the group is preparing to lay seedballs near the lake.
A bird sanctuary?
Doddagubbi lake finds a mention in renowned ornithologist and conservationist, Zafar Futehally’s report in 1990 titled, ‘Doddagubbi: The Case of an Overused Lake’. The lake was his favourite place for bird watching and he wrote that it would benefit both the rural population and wildlife if the lake was kept in a good condition. He had in fact also suggested that the lake be made into a bird sanctuary because of its rich flora and fauna. In order to fulfill his dream, the residents are making efforts to convert the lake into a bird sanctuary by planting trees native to this region. However since the past decade, it has been encroached and garbage has been dumped here. The lake has no Sewage Treatment Plant and falls under the jurisdiction of the Panchayat. The Panchayat has also started clearing up the rajakaluve after a meeting with the residents.
Bollachettira Dhyan Appachu, one of the 40 members of the volunteer group says, “Once upon a time, bird watchers would flock to this Lake. But ever since apartments started coming up in the periphery of the lake, the flora and fauna have depleted. The water is polluted as the untreated sewage water from the apartments is directly let into the Lake. It contains sanitary waste as well. The Lake was earlier spread across 150 acres of land but most of it is encroached now. We have taken many steps to bring it back to life now.”
In 2016, Lake Development Authority had also written to the government to declare it as a wetland and bird sanctuary. However, nothing materialized after that, says the volunteers.
Local residents who plan to revive the water body say that not too long ago its water was fit for drinking
Appachu adds, “We want to re-establish the original boundary of the lake and develop it into a bird sanctuary. A survey of the lake and de-silting needs to be done next. Because of negligence, the lake has become a hub of illegal activities.”
The group has started collecting funds for their activities. Some funds have also been collected through auctioning of paintings by artist Faizal Ali, one of the members of the group. A part of the funds raised from the sale of Ali’s paintings will be ploughed into development of the lake and making of the sacred forest.
Noor Fathima, a part of the team says, “I am promoting the use of bio enzymes as cleansers and chemical-free substances at homes so that the water that flows into the lake is not harmful. For instance, soaps can be substituted with gram flour.”
BU steps in
Dr Inayathulla M from
Anand Malligavad, another activist working for the lake, wants to take the natural route. He says, “We won’t need an STP if a natural filtration system is put in place. This includes planting aquatic plants in the
Encroachments
After multiple encroachments that have taken place at the Lake, the volunteers have prepared a map to notify the authorities about them. These include a school in the buffer zone of the lake, two major apartment complexes, the boundary of a layout constructed recently that extends into lake boundary, a villa in the buffer zone... Large scale dumping of debris, piles of glass wool and waste from the nearby apartment complexes also takes place in the buffer zone. A water treatment plant near the lake, supplying drinking water to homes, has led to drying up of three of the ten bore wells in Doddagubbi. Another major encroachment includes a road that has come up near the lake. Locals too have encroached a part of the lake.
‘Cities need green spaces, not
Meera Rajesh, who has been working on restoring Devara Kadus in Coorg feels that urban cities hardly have spaces for Devara Kadus and must instead focus on retaining and preserving the existing greenery. She says, “A city like Bengaluru needs green parks like Cubbon Park and Lalbagh where human interaction is possible. In some Devara Kadus, people are permitted to enter only barefoot and at some other Devara Kadus, people are not allowed, as it is considered a sacred space. A Devara Kadu also needs lots of space which urban cities lack. Hence there is a need to preserve the existing greenery and not plant trees after cutting them down in lung spaces like Cubbon Park.”
