Thread by @bhanu_sridharan

A lake in North Bengaluru is about to get a whole lot smaller. (1)

Venkateshpura is a small lake in Sampigehalli, near Jakkur. Residents in the area say the lake measures 10.35 acres but BBMP which manages the lake has decided to only restore 6.35 acres. BDA has designated the remaining 4 acres as a Civic Amenity site for Arkhavathy Lyt (2)

Of the remaining 4 acres, 2.75 acres have been leased to a private trust to build a private school. The residents have been running from agency to agency, documents in hand, asking why a part of the lake is not considered a lake anymore. (3)

Here's part of the lake that is not lake anymore. Part of the four acres that have been shaved off have water, reed beds and purple moorhens. I even saw a man fishing there. Even BBMP’s lake restoration documents claim that this land is part of the lake’s watershed. (4)

You can read part 1 of this story on @citizenmatters bengaluru.citizenmatters.in/venkateshpura-… (5)

But please stick around for part 2 published today.Residents are worried that construction in this lake land will also affect the Sampigehalli Auxiliary Tower Station, that funny structure on top of this beautiful rockface. (6)

The Sampigehalli auxiliary tower station, was a part of the Great Trignometric Survey. It was part of a massive exercise to map the entire Indian sub-continent with scientific precision. It’s a symbol of Bengaluru’s scientific heritage, says heritage experts. (7)

The private trust is breaking down a granite rock face connected to the Sampigehalli monument. It’s one of the last remaining rocky outcrops in the neighbourhood. (8)

The neighbourhood is also a classic peri-urban landscape. The original inhabitants of the Sampigehalli and Chokkanahalli villages graze livestock in the lake periphery. But BDA claims no one grazes livestock there anymore. (9)

Kannappa, from Chokkanahalli village is furious. He’s angry with the JCBs breaking down the ‘bande’ or rock. He is worried about losing even more grazing land and access to the lake. (10)

The urban residents want BBMP to step up and restore the whole lake. They want the Sampigehalli tower to be protected and for everyone to know its story. They want their rural neighbours to have access to the lake and the grazing areas. (11)

One resident asks why Civic Amenity sites are used for a private trust to build a private school for the rich. There is a government school in the area which has never had a playground. He says they only have a flag pole for flag hoisting on Independence and Republic day. (12)

If you came this far, thank you for sticking with me. You can read the second part here: bengaluru.citizenmatters.in/venkateshpura-… (13)