The community that saved a lake | Fusion - WeRIndia

A residential community in Bangalore, Akshaya Nagara worked together to create an amazing environment friendly setting for themselves.

Akshaya Nagara is an area which did not even fall under the Bengaluru metropolitan civic body, until recently. Because of that, the area did not receive any public facilities like water supply, sewage drain pipes or garbage collection services.

The residents of Akshaya Nagara simply did not want to live like that any longer. Instead of putting complaints to the authorities, they started their own solution. They worked to create a sustainable solution for themselves.

The work started a decade ago. The one special thing they had was a lake. However, the condition of the lake was very bad back then. The lake was completely trashed. Its water is mixed with sewage water from the area. Even open defecation was common near the lake. The stench of the lake was revolting too. The weeds surrounding it combined with all its faults almost led it to being abandoned. However, with hard work, the situation has completely changed today.

It began with a retired bank official named Ramesh Kumar who started gaining interest among the residents about the need to save the lake.

First they stopped all sewage from being dumped into the lake. The community did not have access to any government funds, so all the residents pitched in to build sewage drains by themselves.

The first aim was to stop all sewage from getting dumped into the lake. Since Akshaya Nagara was not part of BBMP, it was not eligible for any funds from the civic body. The residents decided to build the sewage drains by themselves. Their work got the attention of the local MLA who offered help with the funds.

After the prevention of sewage flow, they wanted to get the water supply right. They built storm water drains to channel water into the lake. Over the past years, the maintenance became difficult and weeds started growing. A team of volunteers called ‘Akshaya Nagara Kere Sutta Mutta’ made it their job to preserve it.

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