Come Let Us Save our Lakes..!

Come Let Us Save our Lakes..!

Bangalore: Environment Support Group ® in collaboration with Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology has organised a workshop on Urban Lakes to give a thought how to save them.

The workshop will be held on Saturday 26th September 2009 at Marigowda Hall, Lalbagh, Near Double Road Entrance, Bangalore.

Decision makers, media, NGOs, Teachers, students and the public will participate in the workshop and think on the importance of Urban Lakes and their importance in the aspects like Ecological, Cultural and Public Spaces.

Workshop is organised for Decision makers, Media, NGOs, Teachers, Students, Government and Private organisations and their employees. All interested Public are also requested to participate in the proceedings and give their suggestions.

The urban built area of Bangalore once had over 300 tanks (now also called as lakes). These water harvesting systems were built over hundreds of years by various generations, and formed an intricate network of water use serving agriculture and drinking water needs. In addition these water bodies have become critical sites for a variety of flora and fauna, especially local and migratory waterfowl.

Over time, these tanks have disappeared due to poor urban planning, lack of concern and reliance on drawing water from faraway rivers. The cultural underpinnings of water conservation that was so innate to life and living in these regions, slowly eroded with the disappearance of these lakes. As the city grows more dense in population and buildings, the critical importance of lakes as social, cultural and ecological spaces is being felt.

Presently less than 60 of these tanks exist in built Bangalore, and most are heavily polluted or drained. As a direct result of encroachment of lakes and its canal networks, Bangalore's neighbourhoods get easily flooded even in a short rain frequently resulting in loss of life and property.

This workshop will highlight the traditional methods of use and management of tanks and community relationships that kept these practices alive apart from l appreciating the dynamic ecology of lakes and their role in supporting livelihoods of communities dependent on fishing, horticulture and farming. Workshop will focus our concerns on how lakes have transitioned into cesspools of urban waste, sewage and decay.

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'We will examine how critical lakes are to building water security for ever growing Bangalore. Workshop will examine the role of the Rule of Law and Community Action in reviving these critical water bodie' Organisers of Workshop says..

Workshop will also examine current policies of protecting and conserving lakes and examine their efficiency, especially ongoing efforts at privatising lakes. As an overall process it will try and evolve a series of good practices to ensure our lakes are retained for our generation and generations to come.

This workshop is for decision makers from the government and corporate sectors, academicians, media persons, legal professionals, political leaders, etc. Needless to state, anyone is welcome with prior registration.

Proceedings of this workshop will be widely circulated with the help of mass media and also electronically.

For More Details and Registrations contact:

Divya Ravindranath or Bhargavi S. Rao, Environment Support Group, 1572, 36th Cross, Ring Road, Banashankari 2nd Stage, Bangalore 560070 Tel:91-80-26713559/60/61 Email bhargavi@esgindia.org/divyarrs@esgindia.org Website: www.esgindia.org

Lalbagh requires all Participants to pay the entrance fee of RS.10/- at the gates.

For More details click the links to images above.

-Nethrakere Udaya Shankara