Falling water cleans lake, attracts visitors

City

New Mini Niagara Falls in Lalbagh, help the ecosystem of the lake while attracting more tourists to the Botanical Garden  

Bangalore, January 30, 2018: A Mini Niagara Falls has been constructed inside the lake of one of the most prominent tourist attractions in Bangalore. The falls are meant to help the ecosystem of the Lalbagh lake and attract more tourists.

But the tourists miss out on the spot as there are no signboards outside the entrances of the Lalbagh Botanical Garden.

As the lake water gets stagnant and gives out pungent smells, these falls have been created to purify the lake water.

The total capacity of a tank is around 2,50,000 litres which after subtracting from the volume of a beam which is 75cm in length and 23cm in breadth, becomes 2,10,000 litres.

“The Department of Horticulture and the Karnataka Government had issued a tender four times but it went in vain. The tender issued was for Rs 1.83 crore and the total cost summed up to Rs 1.45 crore.  I am the sole proprietor, so I thought I would take the chance. It was a nice experience. The work included the tanks, pipelines, helping labourers and supervising it. This waterfall technology is very nice and smooth. It is beautiful how it falls when the tanks overflow.” said R. Nagesh, Lalbagh Lake Contractor.

He further stated that there was a pipeline of 6km from the lake and a floating motor has been installed below the bridge. The motors, pipes, cables, wire pumps and all the electrical parts cost about Rs 75 lakhs.

Earlier a layer of algae was forming due to which, various breeds of fishes were dying. But after the construction of these falls, the eco-system of fishes has been restored.

Mr. Nagesh said that due to these falls, and the circulation of water, levels of oxygen increases resulting in more fish breeding.This is known as Green Water Technology and from this; fishes have increased in a short span of time.

“The quality of lake water has improved. We wanted the falls to be functional during the flower show so that a lot of visitors get to know about it. It is unique because this kind of artificial waterfall is not there, anywhere, in Bangalore city,” said Chandrashekhar, Deputy Director of Horticulture Department.

The Mini Niagara Falls does not run throughout the day, as they consume a lot of power. So, there is one board inside the garden, near the lake, which showcases different timings for tourists. The timings are: 7:30-8:00am11:30-12:00pm3:00-3:30pm, and 5:30-6:00pm.

K. Shama, a visitor in Lalbagh, said, “We did not know the timings of the waterfall. We thought that it runs always.”

Rama, another visitor in Lalbagh, said, “

“There is one show at 12 in the noon. After that, there is a show only after three hours. The last show ends at 6 pm. They should put the timings of the waterfalls outside every entrance so that people are aware.”

Sanjeev Sharma, a security guard in Lalbagh, said, “Due to these falls, the number of tourists has increased, Moreover, the quality of the lake water is also better than earlier. But the authorities should put timings at every entrance so that everybody knows about it. They come inside and ask if the waterfall runs throughout the day.”

Kshitij, an environmentalist, said, “This is a good initiative taken by the Department of Horticulture. This helps the eco-system of the lake and as a result, helps the environment altogether.”

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