Without state funds, official leads community-driven revival of 12 lakes in Chikkaballapur | Bengaluru News

Bengaluru: In a remarkable display of grassroots leadership and community cooperation, a KAS officer and a team of local villagers have successfully rejuvenated 12 lakes in Gauribidanur taluk in Chikkaballapur district — all without a single rupee of govt funding.The initiative was spearheaded by BN Varaprasad Reddy, a Karnataka Administrative Service officer who served as a special officer in the taluk during the pandemic years. Reddy, a native of the region, earned the trust of residents during his service, goodwill that helped restore the taluk’s neglected water bodies.The idea took root during a casual conversation Reddy had with two friends from his village. They identified Mudugaanakunte Lake, which had been dry for 18 years, as a starting point. The group reached out to the community, proposing to revive the lake by desilting it. Villagers responded enthusiastically, contributing funds.With voluntary contributions and support, the team cleared silt from the 84-acre lake and cleaned connecting water channels. When the rains arrived in 2021, the lake filled up — for the first time in nearly two decades.Buoyed by the success, the group went on to rejuvenate 11 other lakes, spending a total of over Rs 50 lakh. Reddy said some people donated as little as Re 1, while some others donated as much as Rs 10,000.“In addition to public donations, we raised funds by selling excavated silt to farmers and brick manufacturers at Rs 30 per tractor load,” said Reddy, also an agricultural science graduate. “Farmers benefitted further by using the nutrient-rich silt to enhance soil fertility.”Support came in kind too. Some residents provided earthmoving machinery, waiving rental charges and only requesting fuel expenses.The team, now operating under a registered trust called Gauribidanur Seva Prathistana — that was registered on Thursday — focused on lakes that were free from legal disputes and had natural water inflows from surrounding hillocks.“We chose lakes with good water sources and no encroachments,” said Venugopal M, president of the trust. “Today, many of these lakes are thriving, and farmers and people are thrilled.”He said that since the lakes are filled with water, nearby open wells, which were dry for years, now have fresh water and farmers are sowing two crops per year instead of one due to groundwater recharge.