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Business News/ Companies / Biocon, Wipro, UB Group step in to save Bengaluru lakes
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Biocon, Wipro, UB Group step in to save Bengaluru lakes

The move comes at a time when Bengaluru's shrinking lake beds and fast depleting groundwater levels have attracted wide attention

Wipro evinced interest in taking up the maintenance of Maragondanahalli Lake. Photo: Hemant Mishra/MintPremium
Wipro evinced interest in taking up the maintenance of Maragondanahalli Lake. Photo: Hemant Mishra/Mint

Bengaluru: Bengaluru-based companies are stepping in to rejuvenate and conserve the city’s lakes.

Five companies—including Biocon Ltd, Wipro Ltd and UB Group—on Monday signed an “expression of interest" (EOI) to fund the rejuvenation of six polluted lakes.

The signing took place at a workshop organized by Karnataka Lake Conservation and Development Authority (KLCDA), a government body set up in 2014.

The move comes at a time when Bengaluru’s shrinking lake beds and fast depleting groundwater levels have attracted wide attention. Over the years, the city has seen toxic froth and filth carpeting the Bellandur, Agara and Varthur lakes, three of the city’s biggest, which have been poisoned by industrial and domestic effluents.

While Bellandur caught fire twice last year, a massive number of fish were seen floating on the surface of Ulsoor lake three months ago, the latest in a series of events revealing the state of pollution in Bengaluru.

At Monday’s workshop, Wipro evinced interest in taking up the maintenance of Maragondanahalli Lake; Biocon showed interest in reviving the Hebbagodi Lake and the UB Group in Bommanahalli Lake, Mphasis Ltd said it will build a treatment plant near Mahadevapura Lake.

Sensara Engineering Pvt. Ltd said it shall adopt two lakes—Kittaganahalli Lake and Kelsanayakanahalli Lake.

An Mphasis spokesperson said the company was willing to spend as much as 1.3 crore towards building the sewage treatment plant. Other companies chose not to disclose the of their contributions.

KLCDA officials said some 20 urgent works, from removal of sewage to fencing the lake area, have been identified, and a detailed project report will be prepared within three months in consultation with the companies.

However, the corporate sponsorship will only be a drop in the ocean of investment the government would need to conserve and rejuvenate the city’s lakes, said V. Balasubramanian, former chairman of Karnataka’s Task Force for Recovery and Protection of Public Lands.

He added that the city’s dying lakes may not be revived unless the sewage inflow into the lakes is stopped and the rampant encroachment of lake beds by private developers is curbed.

An estimate prepared by a private company some years ago said that 40,000 crore will be needed to rejuvenate just 100 lakes in Bengaluru, said Balasubramanian, who was also Karnataka government’s former additional chief secretary.

“During the British era, the city had 1,000 lakes. In the last 50 years, we have managed to destroy it down to just 100 lakes. It’s a mammoth task to rejuvenate these lakes," Balasubramanian said at the workshop.

“Will things change overnight? I don’t know. But it’s a symbolic statement to create awareness," said Hariprasad Hegde, vice-president and business head, Wipro Water.

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Published: 14 Jun 2016, 12:34 AM IST
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