Bangalore Recreation - Lakes | Parks | Sports

[akersh]

Cubbon Park on Sundays

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U05sE...3xOGIDor4zpYPp

[gentem]

Class VI student drowns in water park
Bangalore, Feb 27, 2012, DHNS:

A class six student drowned in a pool at Wonderla Amusement Park near Bidadi, about 28 kilometre from the City, on Monday afternoon.

Sabrina, 12, was a student of St Martha’s School in R T Nagar. The school management had organised a daylong outing to Wonderla.

Police said the incident took place when the children went back to play after lunch. Sabrina was playing in the Wave Pool when she slipped and drowned.

Though she was brought out of the water immediately and administered first aid, she did not respond to the treatment as she had consumed a lot of water and was in state of shock. The management tried to shift her to a hospital in Bangalore, but she died en route.

The victim’s parents and the school management have lodged a complaint against the WonderLa Amusement Park in the Bidadi police station.

According to Rudresh, AGM, Wonderla Holidays, the incident happened at 3:30 pm at the pool in the park. The pool is two-and-a half-foot deep and the pool area is manned by 18 lifeguards at any given point of time.

“There were three girls in the pool at that time when a lifeguard noticed the group moving towards a pillar in the corner. When one of the girls began to drown, the lifeguard rescued her from the pool in less than 15 seconds and performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Oxygen was provided at the park’s medical facility. Sabrina was immediately rushed to Rajarajeshwari Hospital for treatment,” he stated in a press release.

He claimed the management ensured that all measures were taken to prevent the loss of life. In a similar incident in November last year, Tejas, a class III student of Mother Theresa School at Jalahalli had drowned in a swimming pool of Residential Holiday Resort in Nelamangala. He was one of the 300 students taken on a trip.

Arjun R, a Class IX student of a government school at Devanahalli drowned in a swimming pool during a summer camp in April last year. He was one of the 39 students registered for the camp organised by Devanahalli Samskrutika Sangha at a resort on the Devanahalli-Doddaballapur highway, 40 kilometre from Bangalore.

Schoolgirl drowns in WonderLa wave pool
TNN | Feb 28, 2012, 07.21AM IST

BANGALORE: A 12-year-old girl on a school picnic drowned in a pool of an amusement park near here around 3pm on Monday. Shabarin Taz, a Class VI student of Matha English School, RT Nagar, was in a 140-strong contingent of students taken by her school in two buses to WonderLa, an amusement park about 28km from here.

Shabarin and her friends were playing in an artificially-created sea. The 4-foot-deep pool had a device which created waves. The girl was playing in the waves when she tripped and fell. A schoolmate Rani (name changed) spotted Shabarin falling and called her teacher Selvi, but it was too late.

Unfortunate, that is a well maintained amusement park

Girl drowned or trampled upon?
Rajiv Kalkod, TNN | Feb 29, 2012, 12.42AM IST

BANGALORE: Just how did a 12-year-old girl die in a Bidadi theme park while on a school picnic on Monday? More than 24 hours after the tragedy, police are still grappling with the question.


Shabarin Taj allegedly drowned in a two-and-a-half-foot-deep pool at WonderLa, about 28km from here. Taj was among the 140 students taken on a picnic to the park by her school in RT Nagar, Matha English School.

The girl's father, Mohammed Mustafa, a tempo driver from Rahmatnagar, near RT Nagar, alleged that his daughter died in the melee when 40 students rushed into the pool to grab 12-odd rubber floats and she was trampled upon by other children. "How can my five-foot-tall daughter get drowned in two and a half feet water," he asked.

A schoolmate of Taj, also a neighbour of the Mustafas, said the accident occurred at 1.30pm, not at 3.30pm as claimed by WonderLa. "When a lifeguard noticed Shabarin drowning, he jumped in along with two others and got her out of the pool in 15 seconds. She was administered cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and oxygen. When her breathing and pulse were recorded as normal, she was rushed to the nearest hospital for further treatment," said WonderLa Holidays executive director Arun K Chittiappilly.

Mustafa said Taj's schoolmates told him that no guard or schoolteacher was around. "Children raised an alarm, and hearing it, teacher Selvi rushed to the spot and pulled the girl out," he said.

Police said doctors at Rajarajeshwari Hospital said the girl was brought dead and that she was brought in an unidentified ambulance. Mustafa said no death certificate had been issued to him yet.

A police swimming expert said: "If anyone is rescued within 15 seconds of falling in water, he or she will never die." Dr Yashodadevi, a paediatrician, said, "Children can survive even if they are under water for 3-5 minutes. Things get complicated if they're ill."

The post-mortem report has not materialized. Samples from the girl's body have been sent to the Forensic Sciences Laboratory, Koramangala. Police sources said it will take a month to get the final post-mortem report. Bidadi police directed WonderLa officials to provide them CCTV footage of the accident site.

[gentem]

Public pools too deep, have few lifeguards
Garima Prasher, TNN | Mar 7, 2012, 02.51AM IST

The summer of 2010 was terrible for Nitish's family. The 6-year-old boy went for swimming lessons at the National Games Village swimming pool's summer camp in Koramangala and drowned. Pool authorities said he wasn't accompanied by an adult and that was a major cause of death. With the onset of summer, many parents send kids to swimming camps across the city, either to ensure they're occupied in their spare time or they pick up something which will come in handy in later life. But beware -swimming is fun, but the threat of drowning lurks in the pool. Experts feel most pool tragedies involving children can be averted, provided safety measures are observed diligently by pool owners and parents.

Parents first line of defence

According to TD Vijayaraghavan, secretary, Karnataka Swimming Association, touch supervision by parents is crucial. ''Even 6 inches of water can kill a child. Parents should practise touch supervision, which means they should be within arm's length of the child all the time. Never leave your children alone in or near the pool even for a moment. An adult who knows swimming and CPR should actively supervise children," he said. Experts say that negligence of parents is the main cause of accidents. "The foolproof method to keep accidents at bay is to accompany the child to the pool. Parents leave their child at the pool and come back only to pick them up. This leads to most accidents and should be discouraged,'' says Nisha Millet, founder, Nisha Millet Swimming Academy.

Another factor is the credibility of the pool. ''A pool should have child: coach ratio as 25:4. Also, make sure the water is very clean. A clean pool is less prone to accidents,'' says Nisha. Pools that don't allow parents to be around during classes are to be avoided.

Public pools in bad shape

There are six public pools across the city and most are found wanting in terms of safety measures. Apart from being too deep (up to 16 ft), they lack sufficient number of lifeguards. ''The depth of the pools varies from 3ft to 16 ft. The pool was constructed 35 years ago and was supposed to have a diving facility. That's why it's deep. We have five lifeguards on each shift," said John Christopher, head coach, Jayanagar Swimming Pool.

Experts say pools, especially those used for training children, shouldn't be deep. "The depth of pools we use during summer camps varies from 1.5 ft to 7ft. The deeper the pool, higher is the chance of accidents. Most public pools are too deep to be used for training children," said Nisha Millet.

According to Vijayaraghavan, the role of a qualified lifeguard is critical. "The number of lifeguards in a pool depends on the size of the pool and the number of swimmers using it. The minimum number of lifeguards in a busy pool should be at least 2 per 170 sqm and in a 50 m pool (most public pools are 50 m pools) the minimum number should be at least six and two on standby," said Vijayaraghavan.

Public pools are: Jayanagar, koramangala, basavanagudi... and 3 more anybody knows? They can make 4.5 feet shallow pool next to these swimming pools

[sunilkumar]

Leaf litter: Citizens show BBMP the way

read here http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/a...w-bbmp-the-way

[sunilkumar]

The Byrasandra lake, situated in Jayanagar, which was once almost sold, is now set to be rejuvenated.
The lake area was under a land dispute as it was allegedly sold by Indian Overseas Bank in an auction for a sum of Rs.7.60 crores. Citizen Matters's 29 Jul 2010 article has a detailed report on the various developments of the lake.

With the local people's initiative, the lake is now moving towards development. The fencing work at Byrasandra lake has started from 17 February.

The lake development project was inaugurated by Ananth Kumar, MP, BJP. It will be the first phase of the project, where the lake will be fenced.
"The fencing work will take about two and a half months to complete," said Somesh M C, Executive Engineer, BDA, who was present at the event. This is be followed by the second phase of the project which includes cleaning up the lake and setting up a STP.
Venkata Subba Rao, who played major role in saving the lake, said, "The lake should be saved and it is happening now." He was also present at the event.

http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/a...fencing-begins

[sunilkumar]

BDA calling a tender to rejuvenate & development of following 4 lakes (K R Puram constituency)

1)Doddanekundi Lake
2)B .Narayanapura Lake
3)Vibhuthipura Lake
4)Gangashetti Lake

wish ground water level increases from this.

source @ https://eproc.karnataka.gov.in/

[sunilkumar]

Last month, Kaikondrahalli lake on Sarjapur road had a distinguished visitor, Nobel Prize winner for Economics, 2009, Elinor Ostrom. She was here to see the results of collective action in Bangalore lakes.



Elinor along with Harini Nagendra, an urban ecology coordinator, ATREE, Bengaluru, has been working to understand when exactly communities step in to conserve. Having heard of citizens initiative at Kaikondrahalli lake, Elinor who was in Bangalore for the Khoshoo Memorial Lecture at ATREE, decided to visit the lake and plant a tree.
Citizen Matters caught up with the Nobel prize winner.

Can you share your thoughts on your visit to the lake? Did it feel special in any way?
Great! I enjoyed visiting the lake and meeting the community. I think it is very important to have long term monitoring of such locations, both in terms of social and ecological impacts as these can provide us with very important insights for future programmes.
..........................
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http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/a...ndrahalli-lake

[sunilkumar]

Two years back this lake was a garbage dump. Now 40 acre lake has been well rejuvenated by volunteers, ecologists, Mahadevpura & Bellandur parisara samrakshana group in coordination with BBMP.

A big thanks to all .

[srivatsayb]

just awesome to what happened at Kaikondrahalli..bravo citizens and agencies..u instill hope..

[JhonJ]

Lakeside view of taps running dry



All washed up: The threat of encroachment looms large on Begur lake, which once irrigated 24 surrounding villages

Even with a lake in their backyard, taps run dry for Begur residents

A cool breeze blows by Begur lake on a warm summer's day, causing the fluttering of the bed of lotuses comfortably ensconced in a corner of the lake. On the bank, residents wash their clothes, as buffaloes sit in the water, enjoying much needed respite from the sweltering heat.

Begur lake is one of the oldest in Bangalore. Constructed by the Ganga dynasty in the 10th century, it irrigated large tracts of land in 24 surrounding villages.

But like many other lakes in the city, urbanisation, industrialisation and encroachment has left it in severe danger. We are losing this lake too, warns H.S. Gopal Rao, historian and the former general secretary of the Karnataka Itihasa Academy.

The lake has shrunk considerably in my lifetime, says Lokesh G., a former panchayat member and resident of Begur. “Several layouts have come up over parts of the lake in the last 10 years because of encroachment.”

Less than a few metres from the lake stand many high-rise residential apartments, with more being constructed.

On the cards is a road-widening project to connect Hosur Road to Bannerghatta Road; this poses yet another threat to the water body.

Plans for development

Residents in the area yearn for an open space, a place to walk and get some fresh air. The lake could still be just that: there are plans to make a walkway and a park around it. The local councillor Srinivas says he has been trying to develop the lake over the last two years, but the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike has not been forthcoming with funds.

Begur lake has a history of flooding. It has overflowed four times since 2000, and flooded the Wipro campus in Electronics City in 2007.

It is ironic that despite having the 138-hectare lake nearby, residents have to dig borewells as deep as 1,200 feet to get water. The existing ones are fast drying up too.

Residents of Begur say they have been dependent on water from tankers for five years now.

People are also to blame for that, says T. Vasudev, a resident and retired government employee. “We have covered everything with concrete and marble. Rainwater goes into the drain.”

source:http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/...cle3254201.ece

[uno.piyush]

Very sad to see the state of lakes in Bangalore. Such precious resources being left to rot ..

[sunilkumar]

BANGALORE: The authorities of Bannerghatta Biological Park are launching a special safari trip for the benefit of high end tourists on Wednesday.
A luxury air- conditioned 20-seater bus purchased by the BBP will be dedicated to this service. The tariff per person is provisionally fixed as Rs 500 per person. This bus will be operated at the interval of every one hour from 9.30 am to 4.30 pm. Besides, two jeeps will be pressed into service for conducting the jeep ‘safari from April 4. The cost for four adults and two children will be ` 2,500 per trip.
Dr R Raju, Executive Director, BBP, said that the Park has achieved record collection of all time high revenue for the year 2011-12. The overall
revenue generation for the year 2011-12 is Rs 13.94 crore from all the sources as against Rs 11.90 crore earned during 2010-11. There were around 12.13 lakh people from all over visited this park during the year.
He said that BBP has taken a number of measures to attract tourists. Of late, a number of people are coming forward to adopt animals or birds of their choice. In the country, Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Park of Mysore, has made a name by registering a record number of adoptions of animals and birds. The Bannerghatta Biological Park also wants animal lovers to show their love and concern by going in for adoption.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/an-ac-rid...64-60-119.html

[sunilkumar]

http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/re...opment_1671304

[sunilkumar]

some pics of sculpture park u/c


source @ hindu





BDA commissioner inspecting the work

[sunilkumar]

Here is good news for those awaiting the inauguration of National Military Memorial (NMM) at Indira Gandhi Musical Fountain Park. If everything goes according to plan, the NMM’s inauguration is expected to become a reality in two months.

The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) has finalised an Ahmedabad-based agency to bring the 700-tonne monolithic stone pillar (Veeragallu) from a village near Devanahalli to the NMM.

Sources said that the contract has been finalised and sent to the state cabinet for approval. “The contract was given to Nabros Transport Pvt Ltd of Ahmedabad. The transport company has agreed to transport the 700-tonne monolithic stone pillar to Bangalore for Rs5.46 crore. We are waiting for the Cabinet’s approval,” said Muddurangiah, assistant engineer, BDA.

Delays
The inauguration of NMM was scheduled last year on Republic Day; later, it was postponed to Independence Day. And for the third time, it was postponed to Vijay Diwas Day. And, this year, the delay in finalising the contractor had postponed the inauguration of NMM once again.

This year again, the BDA officials were confident of throwing the NMM open to public on January 26, but again the plan did not materialise. “It is the Nabros’ responsibility to make all arrangements, including availing traffic police’s help to bring in the monolithic stone pillar here. The work on landscaping has already commenced and it requires only a few weeks for completion,” explained Muddurangaiah.

Meanwhile, a de-commissioned air force plane and an armoured tank were installed at the park. “A de-commissioned war ship is also on its way. We will complete the remaining work as soon as the monolithic stone pillar is arrived,’’ said Krupashankar, an employee of the agency assigned to do landscaping and other civil works at the park.

About 90% of the carving of monolithic stone pillar has been completed. The BDA has given the tender for quarrying and carving of monolithic stone to the Bidadi-based sculptor, Ashok Gudigar, for Rs94.08 lakh.

The work on walkways at the NMM park is complete. The work on water harvesting is in progress while flooring work in the motivation hall is complete. The work on amphitheatre that can accommodate 200 people is nearing completion and the names of 20,000-plus martyrs have been procured.

These names will be etched on granite stones near the monolithic stone pillar. Busts of heroes from Karnataka such as FM Manekshaw, FM Cariappa, Col Vasanth, Maj Sandeep Unnikrishnan, among others, will be displayed inside the motivation hall.

“The initial progress of the memorial dedicated by the people of Bangalore was brisk. But, in recent months, it has slowed down. However, owing to the commitment of the NMM Committee, Bangalore Development Authority and, more importantly, the veteran community and armed forces themselves, significant progress in terms of construction has been made.

We are hopeful the construction will be complete and ready for inauguration at the earliest,” said Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MP and chairman, National Military Memorial Committee.

~6 crore Rs just to transport stone from devanahalli to city

http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/re...morial_1671796

[sunilkumar]

war memorial concept plan

http://www.flagsofhonour.org/Nationa...10_03_2011.ppt

[gentem]

High court sets guidelines on lake privatization
Court Orders Removal Of Illegal Constructions 30 Metres From Water Bodies
TNN | Apr 12, 2012, 04.17AM IST

Bangalore: The high court on Wednesday disposed of PILs related to privatisation of city lakes with a series of directions to authorities about upkeep of these water bodies.
“Private participation in such projects is in accordance with national water policy. We are of the opinion that the agreement by way of lease appears to be a misnomer as it does not disclose transfer of land but only in the nature of licence without any absolute right over lake or its bed. The fact that fishing rights in some lakes have been granted to other organisations suggests that the lessees have no absolute control over lake area. Terms and conditions and recreational activities do not appear to be detrimental to the environment. In fact, high court legal services committee found that lakes are in good condition. Thus, the lease cannot be held to be violated. Hebbal lake is now more visitor friendly than Nagawara and Vengayyanakere lakes,” the division bench headed by Justice K Shridhara Rao observed in its order while disposing of PILs including one filed by Environmental Support Group.

SOME DIRECTIONS ON UPKEEP

“This court, on two earlier occasions, had given directions. On April 4, 2011 directions were issued for preservation. Keeping in view, it will be just and useful that earlier directions are consolidated, and some more directions are issued. It’s necessary that survey of lakes has to be undertaken by demarcating boundary and proper fencing of each lake done by the Lake Development Authority.
“Unauthorised constructions within 30 metres of the lake periphery have to be removed. Silt and weeds have to be removed scientifically and periodically.
Flow of sewer into the tank has to be stopped. Forest department shall undertake planting of saplings around the lake and its buffer area. Channels which feed the lake have to be properly protected and maintained,” the bench said.

Lakes in BBMP area

The bench said that BBMP commissioner is solely responsible for maintenance of lake within civic body limits. “A committee consisting of BBMP, conservator of forest ,Bangalore circle or his nominee, CEO of LDA, member secretary to Karnataka State Legal Services Authority shall run the bimonthly meeting on management and maintenance of lakes including leased lakes, and take steps for their improvement,” the bench said.
Lakes in other areas
In other corporations, commissioners, commissioners of urban development authorities and member secretaries of district legal services authorities shall have bimonthly meetings to collect reports of management and maintenance of lakes, the court said.
Background
In 2004, LDA began a process of public-private participation model collaboration. Private companies would bid for lakes to “develop and maintain” them for 15 years. The LDA leased out the Hebbal lake to East India Hotels (the Oberoi group), the Nagawara lake to Lumbini Gardens in April 2005 and Vengayyanakere to Parc Ltd. The lease for Agara lake was cancelled recently. The Environmental Support Group filed a PIL in 2008 in the high court. It contended that leasing out these four lakes is against legal norms with respect to management and conservation of such ecologically sensitive water bodies. It claimed these water bodies are located in prime areas and beneficiaries of privatization of these are largely hoteliers and builders.

FREE ENTRY
The court stipulated that children below 12 should be given free entry in all three lakes. For using recreation facilities, separate charges can be levied.


ON A GREEN MISSION: Court asked authorities to remove silt and weeds from the lakes periodically

Now we will have a lakefront 5 star hotel if not seafacing with luxury yachts parked next to hotel. good verdict by high court.. free entry to all should be given at least half the periphery of the lake..

[sunilkumar]

Visit here for construction updates http://www.harekrishnablog.com/index...ts/983-kris...

[sunilkumar]

Gopura color pattern looks boring, could have been better.

[uno.piyush]

Like what ?