Ecological Assessment and Conservation Strategies of Yele Mallappa Shetty Lake in Bengaluru, India

At present the human race is staring at the threat from global warming and climate and at this point of time, the need for conservation of wetland ecosystem is a big necessity. Hence it is crucial to make the ecological assessment of water bodies in the urban areas to find out the solution. Water resources are important for urban areas as they provide for a wide range of uses. Yele Mallappa Shetty lake (YMSL) being one of the major lakes of Bengaluru city covering a large watershed spread over in an area of 287 km2 needs urgent conservational efforts. Especially in the background of severe shortage water for domestic purposes in city. Ecological assessment of this iconic lake was carried out by studying the physico-chemical, topographical, and biological parameters. The results were analysed using specific standards. They clearly showed that there is high risk of contamination in this lake which is mainly because of domestic sewage and effluents released from industries. YMSL has shown sever depletion in aquatic flora. The number of plant species found to be very low. The lake was dominated by only a few species, which is highly disturbing. Despite of the fact the Government is announcing projects and schemes to rejuvenate the lakes the number of lakes is decreasing. Some of them are fast disappearing. All existing lakes need urgent attention and especially YMSL should be rejuvenated. Conservation strategies of the lakes are also discussed and presented in the paper.