Portion of Mylasandra lake makes way for road widening

Bengaluru

As many lakes in the city die a slow death due to neglect, one is being eaten away by an infrastructure project. A portion of the Mylasandra lake on Dr. Vishnuvardhan Road, connecting Kengeri to Uttarahalli, is being used for widening the road by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).

Locals and residents of Mylasandra aired their concerns. A member of the Save Mylasandra Lake team, Ajay Kumar H.M., said, “Our team tried for an MoU for the development of the lake. We were in talks for the sanction of CSR funding to safeguard the lake, but in the meantime, it went to the BBMP. My only concern is that the road development should not impact the capacity of the lake.”

Srinivas Murthy, a retired civil engineer, said the construction will impact the ecological balance of the lake. The case in point is the dumping of garbage that happens in the surroundings of the lake, which usually attracts a large variety of birds, and therefore bird watchers.

Siddanna, a local resident who has lived in the area for 50 years, said, “Shepherds brought their cattle for grazing here. But now, with rapid construction and deforestation, the area is occupied with road debris.”

There are supporters for the project too. “The last five years saw rapid growth of apartment complexes in the area. Traffic has multiplied. Roads are equally important owing to the increase in number of vehicles,” said a resident.

Amid all the concerns, an official of the BBMP Road Division, who is in-charge of the road construction surrounding the Mylasandra lake, maintained that no harm will be done to the lake ecosystem. “We have got permission from the Lake Development Authority for the construction of the road. The slope portion of the lake is under construction, causing no harm to the lake,” said the official.