Ulsoor Lake or Halasuru Lake, one of the biggest lakes in

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

, is located on the eastern side of the city. It derives its name from the name of the locality it is situated, namely,

Halasuru Halasuru, known as Ulsoor during the British Rule, is one of the oldest neighbourhoods in the city of Bengaluru. It is in central Bengaluru, and begins near the eastern terminus of Mahatma Gandhi Raste. It is renowned for its numerous temple ...

, close to M G Road. It is spread over and has several

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

s. Even though the lake is dated to Kempe Gowdas's time, the present lake was created by

Lewin Bentham Bowring Lewin Bentham Bowring (1824–1910) was a British Indian civil servant in British India who served as the Chief Commissioner of Mysore between 1862 and 1870. He was also an author and man of letters. Early life Bowring was born in 1824. He was ...

, the then Commissioner of Bangalore. A part of the lake is controlled by the

Madras Engineer Group Madras Engineer Group (MEG), informally known as the Madras Sappers, is an engineer group of the Corps of Engineers of the Indian Army. The Madras Sappers draw their origin from the erstwhile Madras Presidency army of the British Raj. This ...

, and the rest by the

Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) was the administrative body responsible for civic amenities and some infrastructural assets of the Greater Bangalore, Greater Bengaluru metropolitan area. It was the fourth List of municipal corporat ...

(BBMP) The lake was subject to several types of pollution threats.

Water quality

The health of the lake eco-system was, therefore, monitored at six monitoring points on the lake for light,

temperature Temperature is a physical quantity that quantitatively expresses the attribute of hotness or coldness. Temperature is measurement, measured with a thermometer. It reflects the average kinetic energy of the vibrating and colliding atoms making ...

oxygen Oxygen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group (periodic table), group in the periodic table, a highly reactivity (chemistry), reactive nonmetal (chemistry), non ...

nutrients A nutrient is a substance used by an organism to survive, grow and reproduce. The requirement for dietary nutrient intake applies to animals, plants, fungi and protists. Nutrients can be incorporated into cells for metabolic purposes or excret ...

and the type of

aquatic plants Aquatic plants, also referred to as hydrophytes, are vascular plants and non-vascular plants that have adapted to live in aquatic environments ( saltwater or freshwater). In lakes, rivers and wetlands, aquatic vegetations provide cover for aquat ...

that grow in the lake. During the study, it was noted that the lake which has catchment area of is fed by three drains at different locations; the first drain is from the Madras Engineering Group (MEG) Centre (of the Army), the second drain is from Jeevanahalli and the third drain is from Doddigunta and traverses through Kattariyamma garden, Godhandappa garden, Munivenkattappa garden, Muthamma garden, Muniamma garden, Kempurayana Garden and New Corporation colony and all these areas are within from the lake and inhabited by slums dwellers. The study showed that the daytime DO was very high; varying between 0.2 and 4.5 mg/L. The

saprobic Saprotrophic nutrition or lysotrophic nutrition is a process of chemoheterotrophic extracellular digestion involved in the processing of decayed (dead or waste) organic matter. It occurs in saprotrophs, and is most often associated with fungi ...

nature of the lake water was confirmed by the P/R ratio which was less than one.

Eutrophication Eutrophication is a general term describing a process in which nutrients accumulate in a body of water, resulting in an increased growth of organisms that may deplete the oxygen in the water; ie. the process of too many plants growing on the s ...

of the lake was confirmed by further studies which indicated

phosphate Phosphates are the naturally occurring form of the element phosphorus. In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthop ...

nitrogen Nitrogen is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a Nonmetal (chemistry), nonmetal and the lightest member of pnictogen, group 15 of the periodic table, often called the Pnictogen, pnictogens. ...

and

chlorophyll Chlorophyll is any of several related green pigments found in cyanobacteria and in the chloroplasts of algae and plants. Its name is derived from the Greek words (, "pale green") and (, "leaf"). Chlorophyll allows plants to absorb energy ...

levels to be high; with Blue green

algae Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthesis, photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular ...

(which is

toxic Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a subst ...

and utilises DO in the night) called the microcystis was noted from surface to bottom of the lake. This affected the aquatic plants and fish (only a few fish species remained). Further studies established the presence of high concentrations of

zinc Zinc is a chemical element; it has symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic tabl ...

and the metal content in water samples, concentration of Zn, Cd, Cr, Pb and Cu content was found to be very high in

sludge Sludge (possibly , or some dialect related to slush) is a semi-solid slurry that can be produced from a range of industrial processes, from water treatment, wastewater treatment or on-site sanitation systems. It can be produced as a settled sus ...

samples with depth of sludge recorded as about . These studies confirmed the need for urgent restoration and remedial actions in the form of: * Desilting of the lake is to eliminate contaminants * Stop all encroachments of the lake with suitable fencing * Only storm water should be allowed into the lake * Army units should discontinue effluents from cattle house wash, cowdung wash and army mess wash and consider installation of a

biogas Biogas is a gaseous renewable energy source produced from raw materials such as agricultural waste, manure, municipal waste, plant material, sewage, green waste, Wastewater treatment, wastewater, and food waste. Biogas is produced by anaerobic ...

plant. * Plastic bags to be prevented from draining into the lake * Sewage/manholes at identified locations to be closed. * Drain water from slum around the lake to be treated before draining into the lake. Preferably, connect the slum storm water and wastewater drain to the nearby Cox Town sewage drain as it is close to the slums * Prohibit submergence of idols during the festival season * Remove all slum dwellers from region * Cultivate and harvest fishes and aquatic plants to deplete the nitrogen and phosphate content

Restoration works

Restoration works, listed below, have resulted in improvements in the lake environment. * Aeration of wastewater that is led into the lake * Park and swimming pool improved * Desilting of the lake bed and thus increasing depth and the capacity of the lake * Installation of silt traps at the mouth of the storm water inlets * Diversion of underground sewages lines from the eastern part of the City through 900 mm pipes bypassing the lake * Restoration of Aquatic life by introduction of fish species natural to the lake and induction of suitable water plants * Chain–link fencing to prevent people dumping garbage into the lake * Boat training facility of Madras Engineering Group (MEG) improved * Access to public from 9 am to 6 pm with holiday on Wednesday It is reported that cleanliness drive has breathed new life to the lake.

Chinese Bell

The Eastern watch tower on Ulsoor Lake had a Chinese bell about 4'3" in height and 3'1.5" in diameter. The Chinese inscription read that the Bell was cast during the reign of Emperor Chien Lung in 1741 and dedicated to the San Yuan Kung temple. Investigations by B L Rice, led to a pensioner and veteran of the

Opium War The First Opium War ( zh, t=第一次鴉片戰爭, p=Dìyīcì yāpiàn zhànzhēng), also known as the Anglo-Chinese War, was a series of military engagements fought between the British Empire and the Chinese Qing dynasty between 1839 and 1 ...

, T Cribb narrating the story of its presence in Bangalore. The bell was taken from a hill temple in

Nanking Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yan ...

, by C Troop of the

Madras Regiment The Madras Regiment is the oldest infantry regiment of the Indian Army, originating in the 1750s as a unit of the East India Company, British East India Company. The regiment took part in numerous campaigns with the British Indian Army and the po ...

, and brought to

St. Thomas Mount Parangimalai (known in English as St. Thomas Mount) is a small hillock in the Chennai district of Tamil Nadu, India, near the neighbourhood of Guindy and very close to Chennai International Airport. By extension, it is also the name of the neig ...

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

, from where it was shipped to the

Bangalore Civil and Military Station Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore ( its official name until 1 November 2014), is the capital and largest city of the southern Indian state of Karnataka. As per the 2011 census, the city had a population of 8.4 million, making it the third ...

, to be suspended near the Quarter Guard of the Troop. The bell was struck on the hour, day and night and the sound was heard for a distance of up to 3 miles. It cracked on being stuck with a 12lb shot one rainy night, making it useless, after which it was dismounted and given to Mr. Smith the Waterworks engineer to be placed at the Tower (p. 26,27). The bell is seen in old photographs, it has since been removed to the Madras Sappers Museum.

Chinese Inscription

In Bangalore, on a large metal bell in the watch-tower to the east of Ulsoor Tank. (Chinese). Fa lun ch'ang chuan. Hain shili Waag Chih Lung Wang Chih Hung chiug ha'ien San Yflan Kung Kung feng. Fo jili tseng hui. Ch'ien Lung Wu nien pa Yueh chi tan kuo tai miu an. Feng tiao ^ii Shun. Huang t'u Kung ku. Ti tao hsia ch'ang. Wan Ming le yeh. Wu ku feng teng.

English Translation

May the Wheel of the Law revolve for ever. A votive offering(2) reverentially made to the Sau Yiian Kung temple by the devotees Wang Chih Lung and Wang Chih Hung. May the Sun of Enlightenment increase in brightness. An auspicious day in the 8th month of the 5th year of the reign of the Emperor Ch'ien Lung. May the empire and the people enjoy peace. May the seasons be regular. May the Emperor enjoy consolidated power. May the Emperor's authority penetrate into the remotest corners of the empire. May the people be contented. May there be abundant harvests (2)A large metal bell.

Water quality

Restoration works

Chinese Bell

Chinese Inscription

English Translation

References

Further reading