|
|
|
Four days of downpour in October 2005 has dunked this City at an elevation of 920 meters above sea level under a sheet of swelling run-offs, making it look like Mumbai or New Orleans after the Great Flood. According to one expert, this has happened as the authorities have worked against Bangalore's system of lakes, built 468 years ago by founding father Kempegowda, and consolidated later by the British with a drainage system. While the history books say that there were 400 lakes and tanks, today this has dwindled to 64 as the City has allowed layouts to be built on these water bodies, said Arun Prasad, a researcher on Bangalore's heritage.
So when it pours, drains overflow and the water has nowhere to go. He said that remodeling the City's crumbling drains is the only solution to waterlogging. “There is so much to learn from our fore-rulers. The great Kempegowda, a local chieftain who architectured a new flanked township called Bengaluru, proved to be a master planner,” said Prasad.
As Arkavathy, the only river nearby, was some distance away, Kempegowda began his township by building lakes like Ulsoor, Dharmabudhi, Kempambundi and Karnaja to provide drinking water. With Bangalore Cantonment coming up in 1806, a twin city of Bangalore grew in a planned manner with the maintenance and restoration of lakes. “They (British) imported a special variety of fish and left them in the lakes,” the researcher said.
Miller's Tank was a huge area of three lakes. Today it accommodates hospitals and IT companies. The lakes were connected to Sankey Tank. When Sankey overflowed, water used to flow into Miller's tanks. The Lalbagh Botanical Garden was the brainchild of Haider Ali. The contribution of the Wodeyars was also significant. The expansion that occurred since the 1980s has made the City vulnerable to devastation. But it still has an opportunity to be remodeled to symbolize a new beginning for a New India.
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
