Lakes of Bangalore - History

History

The earliest history of creation of lakes in and around the city is traced to the founders of Bangalore or Bengaluru –the Kempe Gowdas– in the Sixteenth century and later by the Wodeyars of Mysore Kingdom and the British.

Most of the lakes and tanks were man made for purposes of drinking water, irrigation and fishing needs and they have also favorably influenced microclimate of the city. The lake waters have also served as “Dhobhi Ghats” or places where washer–men (‘dhobis’ is the locale usage in India), have traditionally used them as a means of livelihood for washing clothes and drying them. The lakes have also served to replenish ground water resources in the vicinity, which are tapped through wells for drinking water.

In the 1960s the number of tanks and lakes was 280 and less than 80 in 1993. Until 1895 unfiltered water was supplied from tanks like Dharmambudhi (present day Bus station), Millers tank (Area opposite Cantonment railway station), Sankey and Ulsoor tanks. From 1896 water was supplied from Hessarghtta and from 1933 it was also obtained from Thippagondanahalli. In the 1970s the scheme to pump water from the Cauvery river 100 kilometres away was begun. The water needed to be raised up by 500 metres. The water demand in 2001 was 750 million litres per day and the actual supply is only 570 million litres per day and the per capita usage is about 105 litres per day. The national standard is 150 litres per day while the international standard is 200 litres per capita per day.