The lakes will sustain agricultural operations in the vicinity and act as essential supplies of drinking water in addition to facilitating groundwater recharge.
Bengaluru, April 19: According to the most recent report from the India Cares Foundation, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) has finished restoring two of the city’s major lakes, increasing their capacity to hold water and adding civic amenities to a third lake. As part of the RCB Go Green Initiative, the team has also improved the biodiversity surrounding these water bodies.
As part of their ESG commitment, RCB started the Lake Improvement Works Project in October 2023 with the goal of developing and desilting Ittgalpura and Sadenahalli lakes. The lakes were chosen because to their extreme water stress and borewell depths, which range from 1000 to 1500 feet. The regions are entirely reliant on surface water and groundwater, and they do not have access to water from the Kaveri River.
52 farmers have collected the dirt to use as topsoil for their crops, and over 1.20 lakh tons of silt and sand have been removed from Ittgalpura Lake and Sadenahalli Lake. The material has been utilized to build bunds and pathways across the lakes.
Stabilization ponds and wetlands have been created as a result of the recovery of nine acres of lake land. The wildlife that lives in the lakes will gain from these traits. The lakes’ ability to hold water has been enhanced by up to 17 acres.
The lakes will sustain agricultural operations in the vicinity and act as essential supplies of drinking water in addition to facilitating groundwater recharge. The fishermen and farmers of the two lakes will have more options for a living because they can now collect three times as much as they could previously. Farmers, who used to rely on borewells for farming, may now use these restored lakes for farming and other uses, increasing sustainability and productivity.
Observe the Lake Restoration Initiative of RCB.
At Kannur Lake, on the other hand, the goal has been to enhance community ownership by utilizing lake assets to create civic amenities. In addition, the program is developing Butterfly Parks, Bamboo Parks, and Ethno-Medicinal Plants Parks at all three lakes. These areas will serve as educational centers for kids to learn about the ecology while simultaneously enhancing and maintaining the lakes’ biodiversity.
It should be mentioned that the Central Groundwater Board of India’s National Compilation on Dynamic Ground Water Resources of India 2022 study indicates that over 12% of India’s groundwater blocks have been overexploited, 12% are in the semi-critical stage, and 3% are in the critical stage.
“At RCB, fans are the center of everything we do. Their steadfast assistance has enabled us to become one of the first carbon-neutral franchises in the world. Since 2013, our fans have been actively involved in our green projects, which have been essential in raising community understanding of sustainability. Taking advantage of this momentum, we logically broadened our focus to include our local community by leading the rehabilitation of important Bengaluru lakes. These lakes are the foundation of the local economy in addition to providing vital groundwater supplies for nearby settlements. “By working together with local authorities and communities, we have made progress toward our larger goal of bringing back Bengaluru’s former glory as the lake city,” stated Rajesh Menon, vice president and head of Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Raising awareness of the ground-level water status in and around Bengaluru would be facilitated by such initiatives. Under the direction of “Friends of Lakes,” the lake rejuvenation process strictly abides by established protocols and standards taken from the domains of environmental engineering, civil engineering, and related professions. Textbooks painstakingly lay out these norms, which act as a framework for the rejuvenation procedure. These lakes’ successful revival is evidence of the value of engineering and environmental regulations, as well as a tried-and-true method of lake restoration.
Since the inception of The Green Game in 2011 through a number of initiatives, the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) has become the world’s first carbon-neutral cricket team and the leading cricket franchise supporting a people’s movement towards a greener planet.
