Clean-Water

𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐓𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠.
These are not just emotional words from citizens.
They are a warning sign for every growing city in India.

Once an important groundwater recharge source for parts of Bengaluru,
Sankey Tank is now facing 𝐬𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝, 𝐬𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰, 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐬, 𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞.
Environmental groups and residents are raising concerns that 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 have altered the lake’s natural hydrology.

Surfaces that once allowed rainwater to percolate into the ground are being replaced with hard structures.
Feeder channels are no longer functioning naturally. Sewage-contaminated water continues to enter the lake.
When a lake loses its ecological function, the impact goes far beyond the waterbody itself.

Groundwater levels decline.
Urban flooding risks increase.
Biodiversity disappears.
Public spaces lose their environmental value. Cities slowly become less resilient to climate stress.
What is happening at Sankey Tank is not an isolated issue. It reflects a 𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚.

The question is no longer whether our lakes are under pressure.
The real question is: 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬, 𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥?

𝐀 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐭𝐫𝐚.
𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐠𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐎𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

During the intense summer heatwave at Khandala Ghat, a monkey stood in front of an MSRTC bus and refused to move.
Passengers soon realized the animal was severely dehydrated. The moment water was offered, more monkeys emerged from the nearby forest searching for the same thing. Water.
That single moment says a lot about the summer of 2026.

India is witnessing record-breaking heat.
Several cities have already crossed 45°C, and prolonged heatwaves are becoming more frequent and intense.

According to climate studies, heatwave days in India have increased significantly over the last decade, putting both people and wildlife under severe stress.

Dry forests, disappearing water sources, rising temperatures, and habitat loss are forcing animals into human spaces simply to survive.
This viral moment is emotional. But it is also alarming.

We urgently need better water arrangements in forest and ghat regions, restoration of natural water bodies, and climate-resilient ecosystems that support both humans and wildlife.
𝐈𝐟 𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫?

𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐚𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚 𝐋𝐚𝐤𝐞, 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟
Monsoon preparation is not just about managing rainwater.
It is about protecting the health of our waterbodies before the season begins.

At Annapurna Lake, preparations for the monsoon are already underway.
One of the most important steps is 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐬 to ensure rainwater flows smoothly and uninterrupted into the lake.
We have also 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐛𝐚𝐫 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 to trap solid waste before it enters the lake.
𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 like these play a big role in preventing pollution, reducing blockage and maintaining water quality during heavy rainfall.

𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐥𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞, especially before monsoons place additional pressure on urban water systems.
𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 is not a one-time effort. It is 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 for long-term ecological health.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬?

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭?
We are proud to share that 𝐂𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐍-𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐈𝐂𝐋𝐄𝐈’𝐬 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞-𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲 for our contribution to 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐚𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚 𝐋𝐚𝐤𝐞.

The study highlights how sustainable, science-backed interventions can help restore urban water bodies while supporting healthier ecosystems and communities.
Seeing our work recognized in a global knowledge platform like ICLEI reinforces an important idea: waterbody restoration is not just an environmental goal, it’s a public health and urban resilience priority.

Annapurna Lake’s transformation showcases our long-term commitment to ecological restoration.
As cities continue to face increasing pressure on water resources, scalable and nature-based solutions will play a critical role in shaping a more sustainable future.

Grateful to everyone who contributed to this journey and to ICLEI for showcasing impactful restoration efforts. , Dr. Monalisa Sen, Dr. Rinku Singh, Saira Kurup, Sasi Madambi

If you are looking to restore a polluted waterbody, improve water quality, or create long-term ecological impact in your city or community, let’s connect and build sustainable solutions together.

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