In 2016, I read an article in the newspaper with a headline, “By 2030, 21 Indian cities will run out of water. I remember in the 1960s, there were over 290 lakes in Bangalore. By 2017, only 90 were left, out of which, a mere 10 were healthy. I could not believe how we have come to this grave situation. The headline haunted me, and I was furious because the governments had not done enough to save them.
I took it upon myself to bring the change. While I went to work during the day, I would visit lakes in the evenings and read numerous books on the same. I visited 180 lakes in the city just to better understand their ecosystem. In April 2017, I took up my first project to revive Kyalasanahalli Lake.
Quit Job For Conserving Lakes
Eventually, I had planned to revive as many lakes as possible. That was not an easy task, when I approached companies for fund-raising, they would often say, “It is a waste of resources”. Nonetheless, I never lost hope and finally the company I was working for, provided me with a grant of ₹1 crore. Then, with the help of volunteers, we created channels for the water to flow. We planted 18,000 saplings & 45 days later, we revived the lake! And 6 months later, the lake had fish & was surrounded by green trees too! The feeling of watching people near the lake resting under the trees was unparalleled!
I knew I had found my calling for becoming a lake conservationist and then finally in 2019, I quit my job. People questioned my decision saying ‘How much can you conserve?’. I’d work for almost 16 hours a day! Sometimes, the lakes are filled with sewage & the rotting smell makes it difficult for me to breathe. Still, it’s my responsibility to clean them.
In the past 5 years, I’ve planted 80,000 saplings, revived 18 lakes & 258 acres. Through this, I’ve created 1500 crore liters of water which helps 30 villages! There is no life on this planet without water, therefore, I have started going to schools and educational institutions to spread awareness about water conservation.
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