My Story: 'I Quit My Job To Revive Lakes In Bangalore, Because If Not Now, Then When?'

In 2016, I read an article in the newspaper with a headline, "By 2030, 21 Indian cities will run out of water. I remember in the 1960s, there were over 290 lakes in Bangalore. By 2017, only 90 were left, out of which, a mere 10 were healthy. I could not believe how we have come to this grave situation. The headline haunted me, and I was furious because the governments had not done enough to save them.

I took it upon myself to bring the change. While I went to work during the day, I would visit lakes in the evenings and read numerous books on the same. I visited 180 lakes in the city just to better understand their ecosystem. In April 2017, I took up my first project to revive Kyalasanahalli Lake.

Quit Job For Conserving Lakes

Eventually, I had planned to revive as many lakes as possible. That was not an easy task, when I approached companies for fund-raising, they would often say, "It is a waste of resources". Nonetheless, I never lost hope and finally the company I was working for, provided me with a grant of ₹1 crore. Then, with the help of volunteers, we created channels for the water to flow. We planted 18,000 saplings & 45 days later, we revived the lake! And 6 months later, the lake had fish & was surrounded by green trees too! The feeling of watching people near the lake resting under the trees was unparalleled!

I knew I had found my calling for becoming a lake conservationist and then finally in 2019, I quit my job. People questioned my decision saying 'How much can you conserve?'. I'd work for almost 16 hours a day! Sometimes, the lakes are filled with sewage & the rotting smell makes it difficult for me to breathe. Still, it's my responsibility to clean them.

In the past 5 years, I've planted 80,000 saplings, revived 18 lakes & 258 acres. Through this, I've created 1500 crore liters of water which helps 30 villages! There is no life on this planet without water, therefore, I have started going to schools and educational institutions to spread awareness about water conservation.

If you too have an inspiring story to tell the world, send us your story at mystory@thelogicalindian.com