Stories from the field

In the heart of Mankrola village, near the Shiv Mandir, stood a pond that people had slowly stopped noticing. Once, it had been a part of everyday life — a place where rainwater gathered, birds descended at dawn, and villagers spent their evenings under open skies.

Here's a strange little fact about Bengaluru: the city's lakes are quietly doing some of the hardest work in urban water management — and almost nobody planned it that way. Despite decades of sewage inflow, encroachment and fragmented oversight, many of these lakes still recharge groundwater, buffer floods and host biodiversity.