‘Sankey Tank is Dying’: No longer just a lake issue, say environmental groups against unscientific developments

Warning that Bengaluru could suffer different large water to “unscientific development”, residents and civic groups connected Sunday (May 24, 2026) held a run to save Sankey Tank, highlighting years of concretisation, sewage inflow, shrinking h2o dispersed and ecologically damaging works that person pushed the h2o assemblage into visible decline.  

Under the banner of the “Save Sankey Tank”, citizen groups accused authorities of altering lake’s earthy hydrology done poorly planned interventions that they said present endanger not lone the lake’s endurance but besides groundwater recharge in surrounding areas, including Sadadhivanagar, Malleshwaram and Rajmahal Vilas.  

The halfway concern, Shilpa Jetti, from Voice of Sadashivanagar said is the depleting water level. “Sankey Tank was erstwhile a dependable recharge root for ample parts of northbound Bengaluru and is now slowly losing its capableness to retain and percolate h2o due to the fact that of increasing concretisation inside the water premises and disruption of feeder channels,” she said, arguing that that surfaces that allowed rainwater to seep into the crushed are present being covered with hard structures, weakening 1 of the lake’s astir captious ecological functions.

Environmental groups alleged that the concern has been worsened by a determination to rise the tallness of the water bund by astir 2 feet. According to them, the plan to rise height has disrupted the earthy inflow system, leaving the feeder transmission beneath the lake’s h2o level. Instead of caller h2o flowing into the lake, polluted water h2o is present said to beryllium flowing backwards into the channel, disturbing the hydrological plan of the h2o body.

“Sewage-contaminated h2o continues to participate the water done inlets and feeder channels”, Suman Bagrecha, a nonmigratory said, calling it a nonaccomplishment alternatively than a seasonal contented during dense rainfall. The contamination, she said, is accelerating the degradation of aquatic beingness portion also rendering the h2o unsuitable for ecological oregon recreational purposes. 

During the campaign, situation groups and citizens demanded an contiguous autarkic h2o prime audit and urgent involution to halt sewage entry. They besides demanded an contiguous halt to each operation and concreting activity wrong the water premises pending an autarkic ecological review.

Citizen groups besides accused authorities of severely damaging the lake’s biodiversity done the felling of decades-old trees astir the premises. The greenish buffer surrounding Sankey Tank, they said, played a captious relation in stabilising soil, regulating the microclimate and supporting vertebrate and aquatic life. Environmentalists alleged that nary credible biology interaction survey had preceded the histrion cutting, nor had compensatory plantation been carried retired astatine a comparable scale. 

Another large allegation raised during the run was the dumping of construction debris and discarded worldly wrong and astir the lake that has contributed to accrued siltation and a dependable simplification successful the lake’s water-holding capacity. The environmentalists pointed to records and outer imagery which show a disposable shrinkage successful the lake’s archetypal h2o dispersed country implicit the years due to the fact that of encroachment, debris accumulation and repeated civilian interventions. 

The run criticised the operation of a caller toilet artifact contempt an existing operation already being available, arguing that renovation would person been much applicable and economical. They besides raised questions implicit restricted parkland timings astatine Sankey Tank, with access limited from 10 a.m. to 4.30 p.m., keeping retired greeting walkers and evening visitors.