“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but rising every time we fall”

Bangalore was once a city full of breathtaking lakes, and was once known as “the city of lakes”. The city’s founders constructed many such man-made lakes as part of a very clever irrigation system. It has no major perennial rivers to satisfy its water requirements and hence, we rely a lot on lakes and bore wells.

Since then, the number of lakes has reduced from 280 in 1960, and the figures have now declined to 81 out of which only 34 are recognized as live lakes.  In highly urban areas, such as Whitefield, the water table has decreased from 300 to 28m.

An unprecedented increase in population and large scale industrialization has led to the water being very contaminated. The city releases over 1600 million liters in untreated sewage into these remaining lakes, along with other industrial effluents. This number will only increase over a period of time as more people move into the city.