Bengaluru: The waters of Nagawara lake in north Bengaluru are being slowly drained, signalling the start of a major restoration effort. Over the next 15 days, the lake will remain dry as a long-planned development project moves forward to rejuvenate and strengthen the waterbody.The initiative, overseen by the Greater Bengaluru Authority’s Project Implementation Unit (PIU) under the National Disaster Mitigation Fund, goes beyond desilting. It aims to improve the lake’s bunds and create walking tracks, promising not just ecological restoration but a renewed recreational space for the community.“The lake receives water from Hebbal and RT Nagar areas from stormwater drains that combine and enter the lake through a single inlet. At present, the inlet is not well-structured. It will be improved, and a silt trap will be built,” the official added.“The PIU was constituted after the formation of GBA as the nodal agency to implement the projects for stormwater drain improvement under a World Bank loan,” SV Rajesh, chief engineer of the unit, said.A GBA official said the project includes desilting the lake and building inlets and outlets to the lake. “There are two wetlands within the lake that extends over 98 acres. These will also be rejuvenated,” the official said, adding that the project is set to cost over Rs 18 crore.The lake was handed over to the erstwhile BBMP by the forest department in Dec 2023. This was after the cancellation of the renewal of the lease, in 2019, to a private entity that ran an amusement park named Lumbini Gardens on the premises.The larger project under the GBA’s PIU includes work on seven lakes, including Sompura, Hebbal, Nagawara, Chikkabellandur, Arekere, Kalkere and Ulsoor lakes. The aim of the project, supported by the World Bank, is to mitigate floods by increasing stormwater drain capacity. The total cost for the seven lakes will amount to Rs 65 crore.
