Several activists who took up arms to defend lakes and trees in the Karnataka capital in the late 1980s now call Vidyranyapura in Bengaluru’s northwest home.
In 1989, 12-year-old Ram Prasad participated in environmental and conservation initiatives with the help of his friends and Vidyaranyapura senior folks. He had no idea back then that his efforts would one day make him a co-founder of one of the city’s largest lake groups. In 2011, he co-founded the citizen group Friends of Lakes.
The Vidyaranyapura and Doddabommasandra lakes were established as part of the lake group’s mission to preserve and revitalise the area.
‘It was formed with the aim of protecting these two lakes and then we started our fight to protect and conserve other lakes in the city. We are an informal group but have focused on the conservation of waterbodies and their biodiversity. This happened under the guidance of Vishwanath S from Biome. We earned the trust of the citizens and government officials since we never had any malafide intention,’ he says.
Prasad stated that eco-fanatics from other states, including Madhya Pradesh, Jammu, and Hyderabad, also solicit feedback from the group.
With the aid of research and academic institutions, Prasad organised courses in lake and conservation throughout the last two years when the country was devastated by a pandemic.
According to Prasad, ‘ATREE, Biome, Bengaluru University’s Water Institute, and Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) have all significantly contributed to the development of FOL.’
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