Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust

Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust (PNLIT) arose out of a concern among a few people on the plight of the dying Puttenahalli Lake in Bengaluru. The working model of citizen participation, often referred to as the “Puttenahalli Lake Model” has been replicated in different parts of the city and MOU has been signed with Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) for officially maintaining the lake. The NGO has implemented various steps and innovations towards making the lake a secure avian habitat and a rich ecological haven in the neighbourhood.

Major Interventions:

Community Engagement: The goal is to bring people of different interests to visit the lake and become involved in its welfare. Regular and diverse activities at the lake premises are conducted which are mostly free to the public. Events such as weekend gardening, bioblitz, citizen science events, nature journaling, bird walk, workshops in photography, storytelling, theatre, clay modelling, origami, mime, book launches and discussions are also held.

Greenery & Biodiversity: countless shrubs and climbers around the periphery of the lake planted by residents in the area during plantation drives, by individuals to celebrate a special days.

Water Purification: Artificial Floating Islands are platforms bearing biofilter plant species which purify the water by absorbing nutrients from the water. Testing and analysis of water samples are done on timely basis. AFIs are now used in lakes such as Agara, Kempambudi, Hebbagodi, and Maregondanahalli.

PNLIT has been showing that local communities can be stewards of public spaces, and they can work with public officials to continuously improve the lake as a beautiful natural site for public enjoyment. In the years since this was first done at PNLIT, similar efforts have been taken up in dozens of lakes in the city, and even in other cities.