Lakes in Bangalore refer to tanks or reservoirs of varying sizes constructed over a number of centuries for rainwater harvesting. The three main gentle natural valley systems have allowed for the creation of interconnected lakes and wetlands where water flows downstream through a series of channels or drains. This entire network of waterbodies in the modern administrative regions of Greater Bangalore, and the two districts of Bangalore Urban and Rural (formerly the unified Bangalore district), have seen accelerated change caused by urbanisation in the past four decades.

Historically, the need for creating and sustaining these man-made dammed freshwater reservoirs was created by the absence of a major river nearby coupled with a growing settlement. A stage had been reached by the end of the 19th century when there was hardly any space for new lakes in the city. When newer technology facilitated water to be brought from further away the narrative and usage of the lakes changed. While the need for the lakes has gone down in terms of the water security of the city, the lakes and the interconnected drain network is considered important with respect to sewage and channeling excess rainwater. The lakes have been redefined as recreational spaces and a place where biodiversity needs to be protected from the effects of unplanned urbanization. Other lakes have reduced in size and are in various stages of deterioration. While associated pollution is rampant such as the case of Bellandur Lake and a lot is left wanting by locals, numerous public and private efforts have been undertaken to address the pollution such sewage treatment and prevention of dumping and encroachment.

Terminology

Lakes are called keres (ಕೆರೆ) in Kannada language,[1] and are traditionally referred to as tanks.[2][3] Smaller waterbodies 1-3 acre in size are called gokattes and waterbodies less than 1 acre are called kuntes.[4] Kaluves can be translated as canals,[5] while in the context of Bangalore rajakaluves refer to bigger canals, channels or drains, specifically storm water drains, that connect lakes and create a series of cascading waterbodies.[6][7][8][9] Kalyanis refer to smaller square tanks.[10] There is no specific definition for what a lake is in India.[11][12]

History

People across the Indian subcontinent have for many centuries stored freshwater in reservoirs such as tanks.[13] These tanks in Bangalore and the surrounding regions of Mysore numbered in the thousands, varied in size according to the rains, and served multiple functions.[13] Most of the tanks were made for purposes of drinking water, irrigation, fishing and washing. They have also served to replenish ground water resources, which are tapped through wells for drinking water.[14] These lakes have many cultural and religious associations.[15] Population distribution and other social-economic factors, caste, and wealth, affected interaction with water bodies.[16]

The Western Ganga dynasty built Agara Lake and Begur Lake,[17] the Cholas built Bellandur Lake, and during the Hoysala Empire's reign Vibhutipura Lake was built.[18] Hoysala's used the words kere or katte depending on the size of the reservoir.[19] Desilting of tanks goes back to the era of Kempe Gowda, considered the founder of modern Bangalore.[20] Kempe Gowda and his successor both constructed tanks inside and outside the fortified areas of Bangalore.[19] Later construction was seen by the Wodeyars of Mysore Kingdom.[14] The tanks would also be used military purposes.[21] Over the years tanks and lakes saw a cycle of decay and restoration.^{[citation needed]} Inscriptions provide some insight into the history of tanks.[22] New lakes were also constructed during colonial rule.[23] Under L. B. Bowring, Milers lake series and Ulsoor were created. Sankey tank was built by R. H. Sankey.[24] A stage had been reached by the end of the 19th century when it was difficulty to find space for a new lake in the city.[23]

1878, Survey of India

1900/1935, Bartholomew

View the georeferenced maps in the Wikimaps Warper

Until 1895 unfiltered water was supplied from tanks like Dharmambudhi, Millers, Sankey and Ulsoor tanks. The dependence on tanks and other sources of water such as wells reduced with the implementation of schemes such as Chamarajendra water works at Hesaraghatta Lake built in 1894, the Chamarajasagar reservoir at T G Halli Reservoir across the Arkavathy River in 1933, and subsequent sourcing from the Cauvery River schemes from the 1970s.[25][26]

Modern administration

A committee in 1986 came out with a report highlighting the failure to maintain various "tanks" and made comments covering lake boundaries, water quality, the construction of tree parks in areas breached, to monitoring and conducting further study for new tanks.[27][28] Lakes in the Bangalore region were managed by as many as 16 different government agencies before 1986.[29] The committee identified 127 lakes and transferred 90 to the forest department.[30] When the forest department started to have a larger role in the administration of these waterbodies, the word 'lake' started to take prominence over 'tank'.[3] In accordance with this terminology, communication and practices related to these waterbodies were impacted.[3]

Management of the lakes remains under various state and municipal government bodies.[31] Since the 1980s, custody of the lakes has seen numerous changes. The former Lake Development Authority (LDA) experimented with public–private participation. Others forms of public-private participation in the form of corporate social responsibility, general public involvement, including coordination with government efforts, has resulted in some lakes seeing successful attempts at restoration.[32][33][34][35] Jurisdiction of some lakes has been transferred to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and then Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), and then back from the BDA to the BBMP, in 2016 and then in 2019.[36][37][38] BBMP engineers have a role in removing encroachments and de-silting drains.[39][40][41] It has a separate department for stormwater drains.[42][43] Urbanization has impacted the lakes in various ways, some lakes have completely disappeared, others reduced to pools, some encroached upon, some in various stages of deterioration, some dried up, some have been leased.[44][45] A 2016 study of 105 lakes found that 98% were encroached and 90% sewage-fed.[46][47]

The Koliwad committee was set up by the Karnataka legislature in 2014.[48][49] It reported an encroachment of 10,500 acres from 835 urban lakes and 710 rural lakes in Bangalore.[50] Out of these about 160 were free from encroachment. The committee report named two dozen private developers and government bodies as encroachers.[50] Over 140 religious institutions have been a part of this encroachment.[51] The committee report did not have much of an impact.[52] High Court orders of 1992 and 1995 restricting activities on lakes, and a Supreme Court judgment of 2006 related to lake management have seen violations.[53]

Rejuvenation, restoration

There are numerous measures suggested, undertaken and debated in relation to the rejuvenation[lower-alpha 1] and restoration of lakes and other waterbodies in the context of Bangalore.[54][55][56][57] (Revival,[58] rehabilitation,[59] conservation etc.[54] are also used in this context.) Creation of "soup bowls" or "u-shaped bowls" and islands is contested.[60][57][61] Lakes can quickly deteriorate following a rejuvenation or restoration if not maintained or protected.[62] The process of rejuvenation or restoration itself could have weaknesses.[62] Several lakes on which crores of rupees have been spent have soon after looked like no rehabilitation or restoration work has been done on them; reasons for this include multi-agency inefficiency, lack of post rejuvenation maintenance and monitoring and corruption etc.[62] There could be divergence in expectations of locals and how the administration goes about restoring a lake.[63] While in previous centuries tanks were created, this century could be considered as the century of tank maintenance or rejuvenation.[64] Mapping of the environment of Bangalore, including its lakes, is considered as a positive constraint to urban development.[65]

Topography and hydrology

The topographic setting of the city has radial slopes towards east and west with a smooth ridge running north to south; rainfall over the ridge area gets divided and flows east or west into the three gentle slopes and valleys of Koramangala–Challagatta, Hebbal and Vrishabavathi. Doddabettahalli 1,062 m (3,484.3 ft) is the highest point on this ridge. The catchments on the east and west belong to the Ponnaiyar River and Arkavathi River respectively. These naturally undulating terrain of hills and valleys, lends itself to the development of lakes that can capture and store rainwater. Small streams are formed by each valley starting with the ridge at the top. A series of shallow tanks varying in size are developed. The gentle topography has also good potential of ground water development.[66][67]

Bangalore, with annual rainfall of 900 mm (3.0 ft) with three different rainy seasons covering nine months of the year. June to October is the rainy season accounting for 64% of the total annual rainfall in the S-W monsoon period and 324 mm (1.1 ft) during the N–E monsoons (November – December).[67][68] It has a salubrious climate with an annual mean temperature of 24 °C (75.2 °F) with extremes ranging from 37 °C (98.6 °F) to 15 °C (59.0 °F) .[66][25]

Lake series

The streams between ridges and valleys have been dammed at suitable locations creating a cascade of reservoirs in each of the three valley systems. Each lake stores rain water from its catchments with excess flows spilling downstream into the next lake in the cascade.[66] There are six cascading lake series- Varthur, Puttenahalli, Hulimavu, Byramangala, Yellamallappa Chetty and Madavara.[72]

Lake interlinking

Stormwater drains or rajakaluves interconnect lakes and allow for the channelisation of excess water.[7] There are 842 km in the drain network.[73] Urbanisation has impacted these.[7][74] Ensuring adequate water flow and no blockages is undertaken by the local administration.[75] In 2016 BBMP uploaded over 1900 maps of storm water drains on their website.[76] Traditionally, communities associated with tanks and their inter-linking were the Neerguntis.[3][77] Encroachment of storm drains and catchment areas can cause both drying up and flooding of lakes.[78] These drains often carry sewage in it, which results in the lakes getting polluted.[67][68] Sluices have a role in maintaining lake capacity.[79]

Water cover

A scientific study carried out by the Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, found that the water bodies of the city have reduced from 3.40 per cent (2,324 ha, 5,742.7 acres) in 1973 to just about 1.47 per cent (1,005 ha, 2,483.4 acres) in 2005 with built up area during the corresponding period increasing to 45.19 per cent (30,476 ha, 75,307.8 acres) from 27.30 per cent (18,650 ha, 46,085.2 acres).[80] Another study has found that Bangalore Urban district has seen a reduction of 14.8 sq km in water cover between 1965 to 2018.[81] Greater Bangalore has seen a reduction in water cover from 20.8 sq km in 1965 to 12.5 sq km in 2018.[81] 24 lakes within the metropolitan region are over 100 acres in size.[82]

Number of lakes

There are various boundaries and methods that have been considered when counting lakes or tanks.[85] This includes the different jurisdictions of concerned government bodies such as BBMP, BDA, BMRDA; the different limits of Bangalore Metropolitan Area, Greater Bangalore, Bangalore Rural district, Bangalore Urban district; and counts mentioned in reports such as the N Lakshman Rao report of 1986.[86] Over time, the expansion of the limits of the city has resulted in a transfer of lakes in the rural district to the urban district.[87]

Greater Bangalore

Greater Bangalore has grown in area from 69 km² (17,000 acres) in 1949 to 712–716–741 km² (176,000–177,000–183,000 acres) by 2007.[88][72][89] The N Lakshman Rao report (1986) listed 127 lakes in the city.[86] A study published in 2008 found that in the heart of the city only 17 good lakes exist as against 51 healthy lakes in 1985.[80] A 2020 report listed 211 lakes within BBMP boundary limits.[90]

Other boundaries

BMRDA in 2001 identified 2789 lakes (2-50 hectares in size) within its limits.[91][92] In 2013, the jurisdiction of the minor irrigation department, BMRDA and BDA was 3578, 2789 and 596 tanks/lakes respectively.[93] The Koliwad committee (2014-2016) listed 1545 lakes.[48] An 2018 Environmental Management and Policy Research Institute (EMPRI) study counted 1521 water bodies in the Bangalore Metropolitan Area, out of which 837 were disused.[94] Out of these 395 were existing keres while the remaining water bodies were kattes or kuntes.[94] In 2022, an initiative by Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment crowdsourced and mapped 1350 lakes in the Bangalore Urban and Rural districts.[95][96]

Water quality

A 2018 study sampled 303 keres; water temperature varied between 16.8°C to 31.8°C.[97] Dissolved oxygen varied from 0 to 12 mg/l.[98] Light transparency varied between 1 to 58 cm.[99] Total suspended solids varied between 0 mg/l to 1045 mg/l. Turbidity varied from 2.1 to 856 mg/l.[100] pH in over 90% of the lakes sampled was between 6.5 and 8.5.[100] In 2022, it was declared that water in the lakes was undrinkable.[101]

Largest lakes

Bellandur lake

The Cholas built Bellandur Lake.[18] In 2017 the lake measured just over 906 acres and has a catchment area that includes 46 linked lakes.[102]

List of lakes

Map of this section's coordinates

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (September 2022)

Other lakes in Bangalore are Attur Lake (13.1114°N 77.5629°E / 13.1114; 77.5629 (Attur Lake)), Medahalli Lake (12.9704°N 77.8425°E / 12.9704; 77.8425 (Medahalli Lake)), Thubarahalli Lake[183] (12.9585°N 77.7246°E / 12.9585; 77.7246 (Thubarahalli Lake)), Malgan, Kogilu (13.1080°N 77.6189°E / 13.1080; 77.6189 (Kogilu Lake)), Janardhana Kere (7.25[105]), Kudlu Chikka kere lake (2.8916°N 77.6546°E / 2.8916; 77.6546 (Kudlu Chikka kere lake)).

Former reservoirs

Map of this section's coordinates, former reservoirs

Urban development has resulted in lakes getting converted to bus stands, sports facilities, playgrounds and residential colonies, and few tanks were breached under the malaria eradication programme.[184][185]

Flora and fauna

Vegetation

Various trees, herbs and shrubs are found in and around the lakes.[216] Common emergent aquatic plants include alligator weed, pink morning glory and cattail.[217] Common submerged aquatic plants include those from the genus Aponogeton, Potamogeton and the highly invasive Hydrilla, Elodea.[218] Free floating Lemna, Wolffia and Eichhornia are common. Rooted floating plants include weeds, lilies and lotus.[218] Around 22 types of aquatic weeds are found in the lakes including algae, duckweed, water hyacinth, musk grass, water thyme, pondweed.[219]

Avifauna

The birds recorded are, purple moorhen also known as purple swamphen, pheasant-tailed jacana, cormorants, brahminy kite, darter, kingfishers, weaver birds, purple heron, grey herons, Indian pond herons, little grebes, coots and teals.[220] (See List of birds of Bangalore for a comprehensive list.) A variety of butterfly have also been spotted.[221][222]

Fauna

20 types of fish have been observed in the lakes.[223] Cyprinidae family is dominant.[223] Fish kills have been reported.[224][225] The first reported incident was in 1995.[226] Common causes of fish kills include depletion of oxygen and sewage inflow.[227] Fish species include common carp, grass carp, catla, rohu, Ompok bimaculatus, Anguilla bicolor bicolor (Indonesian shortfin eel), ticto barb, long-snouted barb, Tilapia sp. and Cirrhinus mrigala. Other fauna are freshwater turtles (terrapin), frogs, naiads, crabs, molluscs, Notopteris.

See also

• Hyderabad city lakes

References

Citations

Works cited

• Nagendra, Harini (2016). Nature in the City: Bengaluru in the Past, Present, and Future. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-908968-0.
• Thippaiah, P (2009), Vanishing Lakes: A Study of Bangalore City (PDF), Social and Economic Change Monograph Series 17, Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bangalore, ISBN 978-81-7791-116-9
• (Final Report) Inventorisation of Water Bodies in Bengaluru Metropolitan Area (BMA), vol. 1, Submitted to Karnataka Lake Conservation and Development Authority (KLCDA), Centre for Lake Conservation (CLC), Environmental Management and Policy Research Institute (EMPRI) (Department of Forest, Ecology and Environment, Government of Karnataka, March 2018{{citation}}: CS1 maint: others (link)

Notes

Further reading

Journals

• Nath, Sanchayan (19 May 2021). "Managerial, clientelist or populist? Lake governance in the Indian city of Bangalore". Water International. Routledge, Taylor & Francis. 46 (4): 524–542. doi:10.1080/02508060.2021.1926827. ISSN 0250-8060. S2CID 235769625.
• Sen, Amrita; Unnikrishnan, Hita; Nagendra, Harini (2021). "Restoration of Urban Water Commons: Navigating Social-Ecological Fault Lines and Inequities". Ecological Restoration. 39 (1): 120–129. doi:10.3368/er.39.1-2.120. ISSN 1543-4079. S2CID 235362713.
• Sen, Amrita; Nagendra, Harini (2 January 2021). "The differentiated impacts of urbanisation on lake communities in Bengaluru, India". International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development. 13 (1): 17–31. doi:10.1080/19463138.2020.1770260. ISSN 1946-3138. S2CID 219745918.
• Castán Broto, Vanesa; Sudhira, H S; Unnikrishnan, Hita (2021). "Walk the Pipeline : Urban Infrastructure Landscapes in Bengaluru's Long Twentieth Century". International Journal of Urban and Regional Research. 45 (4): 696–715. doi:10.1111/1468-2427.12985. ISSN 0309-1317. S2CID 234087370.
• Sharma, Dinesh C (2004). "Rituals Cause Lead Exposure and Fish Kill". Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. 2 (10): 510. doi:10.2307/3868375. ISSN 1540-9295. JSTOR 3868375.
• Baindur, Meera (2014). "Bangalore Lake story: reflections on the spirit of a place". Journal of Cultural Geography. 31 (1): 32–56. doi:10.1080/08873631.2013.873296. ISSN 0887-3631. S2CID 144375360.
• Gupta, Anil K; Nair, Sreeja S (2011). "Urban floods in Bangalore and Chennai: risk management challenges and lessons for sustainable urban ecology". Current Science. 100 (11): 1638–1645. ISSN 0011-3891. JSTOR 24077767.
• Ramesh, Aditya (2021). "Flows and fixes: water, disease and housing in Bangalore, 1860–1915". Urban History: 1–23. doi:10.1017/S0963926821000705. ISSN 0963-9268. S2CID 244003581.
• Lindsay, Vogt (2021). "Water, Modern and Multiple: Enriching the Idea of Water Through Enumeration Amidst Water Scarcity in Bengaluru". Water Alternatives. 14 (1): 97–116. doi:10.5167/UZH-214227 – via Zurich Open Repository and Archive, University of Zurich.
• Centre for Science and Environment (2012). Protection and Management of Urban Lakes in India (Report). Centre for Science and Environment. JSTOR resrep37849.
• Birawat, Khushbu K; T, Hymavathi; C Nachiyar, Mathuvanthi; N A, Mayaja; C V, Srinivasa (2021). "Impact of urbanisation on lakes—a study of Bengaluru lakes through water quality index (WQI) and overall index of pollution (OIP)". Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. 193 (7): 408. doi:10.1007/s10661-021-09131-w. ISSN 0167-6369. PMID 34114104. S2CID 235398593.
• Gouri, R L; Srinivas, V V (2015). "Reliability Assessment of a Storm Water Drain Network". Aquatic Procedia. Elsevier. 4: 772–779. doi:10.1016/j.aqpro.2015.02.160.
• R, Kiran; Ramachandra, T V (March 1999). "Status of wetlands in Bangalore and its conservation aspects" (PDF). ENVIS Journal of Human Settlements.
• K, Chandrakanth (March 2018). "Ecological Impact of Urban Development: Lakes of Bengaluru". Tekton. 5 (1): 22–45.
• Sundaresan, Jayaraj (2011). "Planning as Commoning: Transformation of a Bangalore Lake". Economic and Political Weekly. 46 (50): 71–79. ISSN 0012-9976. JSTOR 41319486.

Reports

• Of the expert committee for preservation, restoration or otherwise of the existing tanks in Bangalore metropolitan area (PDF) (Report). 1986.
• Preservation of Lakes in the City of Bangalore. Report of the Committee constituted by the Hon'ble High Court of Karnataka to examine the ground realities and prepare an action plan for preservation of lakes in the City of Bangalore. (PDF), karunadu.karnataka.gov.in Official Website of Government of Karnataka, 2011
• Ramachandra, T V; S, Vinay; Mahapatra, Durga Madhab; Varghese, Sincy; Aithal, Bharath H. (2016). Water Situation in Bengaluru, ENVIS Technical Report 114 (Report). Environmental Information System, CES, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.
• Ramachandra, T V; Aithal, Bharath H.; Alakananda, B; Supriya, G (2015). Environmental Auditing of Bangalore Wetlands. ENVIS Technical Report 72 (Report). CES, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.
• Ramachandra, T V; K S, Asulabha; V, Sincy; S, Vinay; Aithal, Bharath H.; Bhat, Sudarshan P.; Mahapatra, Durga M. (June 2015). Pathetic status of wetlands in Bangalore: Epitome of inefficient and uncoordinated Governance, ENVIS Technical Report 93 (PDF) (Report). CES, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.
• Ramachandra, T V; Asulabha, K S; Sincy, V; Bhat, Sudarshan; Aithal, Bharath H. (2016). Wetlands: Treasure of Bangalore. ENVIS Technical Report 101 (Report). Energy & Wetlands Research Group, CES, IISc, Bangalore, India.
• Ramachandra, T V; S., Vinay; Mahapatra, Durga Madhab; Varghese, Sincy; Aithal, Bharath H. (October 2016), Water situation in Bengaluru. ENVIS Technical Report 114 (PDF), Environmental Information System, CES, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore
• Ramachandra, T V; Mahapatra, Durga Madhab; S, Vinay; V, Sincy; S, Asulabha K; Bhat, Sudarshan; Aithal, Bharath H. (2017). Bellandur and Varthur Lakes Rejuvenation Blueprint. ENVIS Technical Report 116 (Report). Environmental Information System, CES, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.
• Ramachandra, T V; Vinay, S; Asulabha, K S; Sincy, V; Bhat, Sudarshan; Mahapatra, Durga Madhab; Aithal, Bharath H. (2017). Rejuvenation Blueprint for lakes in Vrishabhavathi valley. ENVIS Technical Report 122 (Report). Environmental Information System, CES, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.
• Ramachandra, T V; S, Vinay; Aithal, Bharath H. (2016). Frequent Floods in Bangalore: Causes and Remedial Measures, ENVIS Technical Report 123 (Report). Environmental Information System, CES, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.
• R., Kiran; Ramachandra, T V, Status of Bangalore Wetlands: Strategies for Restoration, Conservation and Management, Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science

Articles

• Unnikrishnan, Hita; Nagendra, Harini (2017). "Of Flash Floods and a Lost Indian Waterscape". The Nature of Cities. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
• Bagchi, Shrabonti; Ghoshal, Somak (2019). "Is Bengaluru heading towards Day Zero?". Livemint.
• B P, Darshan Devaiah (2022). "Anti-encroachment drive in Bengaluru skips over lakes as BBMP faces multiple hurdles". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X.
• C S, Yamini (2022). Bhasin, Swati (ed.). "'Influential people interfere but we will remove them': CM Bommai on encroachments in Bengaluru". Hindustan Times.
• Selvam, Divya; V, Aishwarya (30 July 2019). "In Bengaluru, citizen groups lead the way in revival of lakes". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X.
• "'Bangalore Development Authority filled 23 lakes, formed 3,530 sites'". The New Indian Express. 17 September 2022.
• Mathew, Melvin (13 December 2021). "La La Land". Bangalore Mirror.
• Sayeed, Vikhar Ahmed (10 July 2022). "Where are Bengaluru's lakes?". Frontline. The Hindu. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
• Manjusainath, G (23 September 2015). "Now, see the lake loot tale in black and white". Deccan Herald.
• Pereira, Joiston (19 June 2016). "Bird Poaching in Bangalore's Wetlands". conservationindia.org.

Mapping

• Mathew, Melvin (2022). "Larger picture: Flood zones mapped". Bangalore Mirror.
• Goled, Shraddha (2022). "Mapping the Flood Prone City". Analytics India Magazine.
• "Where does the water come from and where does it go? Catchment, Drainage and Cascade" (PDF). biome Environmental. 2017. p. 36.
• Brownstein, Daniel (1 March 2021). "Bangalore's Disappearing Lakes". Guerrilla Cartography.
• Palanichamy, Raj Bhagat (7 September 2022). "Overpopulation, concrete jungle, altered landscape: Decoding Bengaluru's urban flood woes". India Today.
• Padhi, Siddhartha; Akash, Manju; Jalali, Urvashi; Dhruve, Parina (2020). "Accelerating the SDGs. Puttenahalli Lakes as Urban Commons, Bangalore, India" (PDF). Local Challenge Project 2020. Local Project Challenge 2020 is a partnership between the Center for Sustainable Urban Development, The Earth Insitute, Columbia University, and the Faculty of Architecture, Federa University, Rio de Janeiro. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 September 2021.

Photos

• Derkzen, Marthe (2015). "Photo Essay: Untold Stories of Change, Loss and Hope Along the Margins of Bengaluru's Lakes". The Nature of Cities.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lakes in Bangalore.

• 167 Lakes in BBMP Custody via official website of the Lakes Department of BBMP
• Rajakaluve Encroachment Finder www.rajakaluve.org
• Karnataka land records (Digital Maps of Lakes) (Survey Maps of Lakes)
• Once There Was a Lake
• topographic-map.com