'With a group of 20-30 people, you can save the world'

Usha Rajagopalan, the face behind the rejuvenated Puttenahalli lake, believes they were very lucky to identify, in record time, which agency was in charge of the waterbody.  “It only took us a year and a half,” she says. In this Q&A, Rajagopalan shares what it takes to save a lake.

What was the most difficult part of reviving and rejuvenating the Puttenahalli lake?
It was finding out who was responsible for lake management. My friends and I who set out to ‘save our lake’ knew that lakes were usually taken care of by the BDA, BBMP and forest department. We didn't know which agency was actually in charge of it. With help of people like Ashwin Mahesh, who was my neighbour, we were lucky to do it in record time. It only took us a year and a half. Normally, it takes a lot more time. After that, things went on smoothly.

Only a year and a half?
This was record time. You have to understand that restoring a lake takes time. You have to move papers, meet people, and work with government agencies. We started work in 2008. It has been close to five years and we still have a long way to go.

You still have a goal?
Our goal is to fill the lake with clear rainwater, aquatic life and birds. Even though there is very little water in the lake as last year's monsoon was poor, and our lake is covered with a weed called Salvania molasta. We saw three woolynecked storks and a marsh harrier. This is what lake groups will get once they begin their own attempts.

And what lessons would you have for those who want to emulate your work?
For us, it was getting encroachers removed. For many lake groups, it will be finding out what their lake boundary is. The tahsildar is the instrument here. We have 1 acre and 5 guntas of lake land encroached upon by 110 houses. Lakes, forests and open spaces are like no man's land. If the government does not remove encroachers as soon as they come, they will continue to grow, in spite of the lake being restored. You will not be able to maintain the lake as long as you cannot enclose the lake area and as long as there are encroachers.

What is the community's role in saving a lake?
Everything. Community participation is necessary to maintain the lake. The BBMP will rejuvenate it, and this takes money. Communities, even if it is just five people like us (with one person working out of Mumbai), need to be committed in maintaining a lake. The only problem the BBMP has is they do not have the adequate personnel to do this.

Can ordinary people do this? Or does it need superhuman powers?
We are not magicians. All we need are a few committed people. Identify neighbours who are experts. We had a young lady, an expert on butterflies come all the way from Banashankari to help us decide what kinds of shrubs needed to be planted in order to attract more butterflies. We have another person who is helping us pump water from the lake to water the plants on the lake bed at a minimal cost. The BBMP had suggested we pump water from the borewell.

Everyone has ideas, we just need people who say 'we'll help'. We are doing this with five people. With a group of 20-30, you can save the world.