50+ saplings vandalised around lake

BENGALURU: ‘Plant trees under whose shade you will not be able to sit’. This saying denotes the value of selflessness and community service, but certainly not the shock experienced when the saplings you plant are destroyed by some ill-intentioned social elements before they even begin to grow.
This is what happened at Basavanapura Lake in KR Pura on Wednesday.There is an active community working on lakes in KR Pura and over the past 2-3 years, these people have planted countless saplings around the waterbodies in the region. Two or three weeks ago, a team led by local lake activist Balaji Raghotham planted over 50 fruit-bearing saplings of jamun, guava and custard apple around Basavanapura Lake.
Much to their dismay, on Wednesday, a morning walker alerted Raghotham that almost all of the newly planted seedlings had been destroyed overnight.
The 7-acre lake was rejuvenated in 2021 but earlier this year, there were reports of sewage flowing into it. “We raised the issue with the relevant authorities, who got it fixed. At the time, there were about 1000 saplings planted around the lake but the appointed contractor took his heavy machinery and uprooted all for fixing the pipeline. We were hoping that they would plant new ones or at least remove the existing ones with care, but nothing was done. Hence, after that episode, a team of 10-15 students and I took on the job of replanting saplings near the western part of the waterbody,” Raghotham told TOI.
The team had planted fruit-bearing trees keeping in mind that these would attract birds and bees to the lake. Naveen Prabhakar, one of the students in the team, said they had carefully studied the area in June before planting saplings, but now most of their work stands destroyed. “We mapped the area, fencing, calculated how much can be planted, etc. We want to file a complaint with the police, but most of us are held up with college exams. We will get to it as soon as our exams end,” he said.
The saplings were bought and sourced out of Raghotham and his team’s funds. “Ideally, the rejuvenating authority must afforest the area, but t BBMP says that it doesn’t have the funds to maintain saplings. Hence, my team and I buy plants individually from private nurseries that are available for anywhere between Rs 80 and Rs 150,” he said.
The team said they have gathered some information on who the possible vandal is and would “teach the person a lesson” by making them part of the re-planting process.