Tired of government apathy, citizens to turn water warriors in Bengaluru

Taking inspiration from the successful #SteelFlyoverBeda movement, citizens of Bengaluru are coming together for the cause of lakes. With lakes like Bellandur and Varthur dying a slow death and the government unwilling to clean it up, citizens have decided to take it upon themselves to lead a united fight. Citizens' groups are now coming together for 'Reclaiming and Protecting Our Lakes' movement.

Citizens' groups like Citizen Action Forum, Citizens for Bengaluru, Namma Bengaluru Foundation, Forward Foundation, Bangalore Environment Trust and Praja are coming together under 'United Bengaluru' forum to affect change. The first interactive session over reclaiming lakes of Bengaluru will be held at Town Hall on Saturday.

The faces of the Steel Flyover Beda campaign like NS Mukunda, Prakash Belawadi, Naresh Narasimhan, Yellappa Reddy and Sridhar Pabbisetty will address the issue with activists, citizens and Residents' welfare associations. The likes of freedom fighter H S Doreswamy is also expected to be part of the session. These are also organisations that have approached the National Green Tribunal over the state of lakes like Bellandur in Bengaluru.

While the NGT has asked the state government to clean up the Bellandur lake, citizens have alleged that the cleanup work has been shoddy and lackadaisical so far. Multiple complaints to the civic authorities, as well as Bengaluru minister K J George, have done little to clean up the Bellandur lake. The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board has classified manufacturing units around the lake and has issued notices for closure. While the direction remains on paper, no concrete action has been witnessed.

The same is to be discussed during Saturday's meet. Citizens of Bengaluru are now all set to take on civic authorities and the government alike to fight for the waterbodies in a city that was once called the 'Lake city'.

OneIndia News