Yesterday I came across a news item in The Hindu newspaper. It was about the brilliant Rotalakes project that is being executed by the 93-member Rotary Club of Moodbidri. The team there is trying to rejuvenate the various local water bodies and has already seen encouraging results from it. I couldn’t help but think about how important this can be for Bengaluru. For a city that has at least one lake every 5 Kilometres, we as citizens should be more vigilant in ensuring the cleanliness and sustainability of these water bodies.
Over the last few decades, almost all the lakes in the city have been polluted. Sustained action, on a very large scale, is needed to rejuvenate these water bodies. Expecting the government alone to take up this mammoth task will most likely cause further delays. On the global level, Bellandur Lake has become the poster child of how rampant urbanisation is killing natural habitats and causing irreversible pollution.
Amidst all this doom and gloom, there are rays of hope too. Eco heroes like Anand Malligavad are working with a great set of volunteers to achieve the impossible. He and his team have already rejuvenated lakes in Kyalasanahalli and Konasandra. In his own words, the lake in Konasandra was even worse than the Bellandur Lake. Here, the water in the lake had, in fact, turned into a gel-like substance. Not only did his team rejuvenate the Kyalasanahalli lake, they went ahead and planted Miyawaki forests around the lake and also created 5 tiny islands in the lake. Just the images of the lake’s transformation will leave you charged with positive energy and immense hope that indeed anything is possible if you do it with enough passion.
Instances like these deepen my belief that if people come together, any change at any scale is actually possible. As the current President of Rotary Bangalore Orchards, I along with my team have initiated projects like Rotary Koti Nati and RBO Happy Schools which are mammoth projects that will be completed over a period of many years. But deep in my heart, I know that no matter how big a project seems; it is the passion of the people behind it that eventually helps it succeed. I leave you with these positive thoughts of hope and cooperation that will one day help us reclaim the Bengaluru that we all dream of.
Image courtesy: Avinash Bhat on Flickr