CSR: Mahadevapura Lake gets an eco-friendly Sewage Treatment Plant 

In a unique initiative, leading corporates in Bengaluru have come together to partner with United Way Bengaluru (UWBe), BBMP and Citizen’s Group to construct an eco-friendly Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) of 1 million litres a day (1MLD) capacity at the Mahadevapura Lake in the city.

Supported by Amazon, Mphasis, Dell Technologies, HTC Global and BORDA, the multi-stakeholder effort is aimed at rejuvenating the Mahadevapura Lake, which adjoins their offices at Bagmane World Technology Centre. The STP will tap and treat 1MLD wastewater flowing in an adjoining drain and discharge it into the lake every day. The inaugural ceremony took place today at Mahadevapura Lake.

UWBe has demonstrated success with its Wake the Lake campaign, and this is bringing together skills and expertise from various fields. The STP is an eco-friendly natural solution. It is a chemical free process with minimum dependence on electricity for treating the wastewater. It is an anaerobic process called DEWATS, which aims to mimic natural processes by providing the right conditions for microbial action. The Bangalore-based Consortium for DEWATS Dissemination Society (CDD Society) have provided the technical expertise for design and implementation of the STP. The construction was led by Revlon Build tech.

Speaking on the initiative, Kishore Thota, Director Customer Experience and Marketing, Amazon India says, “We are happy to associate with UWBe and BBMP to align efforts around intergovernmental initiatives to contribute to and preserve the city’s ecological systems to positively impact the local communities. The rejuvenation of the Mahadevapura Lake will be able to restore the rich biodiversity and inspire citizens to create hubs for a vibrant socio-cultural life.”

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“We have a responsibility to give back to the society we reside in and this project with UWBe and BBMP is one such effort. We hope this initiative will bring back the lake its lost glory. This is a classic example of collaboration to safeguard the nature for our future generations,’’ said Meenu Bhambhani, Vice President and Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, Mphasis.

Echoing similar sentiments, Sarv Saravanan, Corporate Senior Vice President & General Manager, India Center of Excellence, Dell Technologies said, “We at Dell Technologies have always been committed to the good of the people and the planet. The STP initiative at Mahadevapura Lake is an extension of this commitment. We are glad to partner with UWBe, BBMP and other corporates.”

I am so excited to see this unfold. Bengaluru once a city of lakes is well on its way to reclaim its past. United Way’s ethos – “Mobilizing the Caring Power of Communities“ is well demonstrated by this initiative by which the Mahadevapura Lake will now have 1 Million Litres of sewage Water treated and put back into the lake every day. A spirited team effort of BBMP, Community and the Corporate Partners with UWBe anchoring the whole initiative, said Prashanth Prakash, Board Chair, United Way Bengaluru.

“Multiple stakeholders coming together for a cleaner and greener environment is what encouraged us to support this project. We hope that the success of the project encourages more funds towards lake rejuvenation in Bangalore, “said Stanzin Tsephel, Director, BORDA-South Asia

“It makes us immensely proud and happy that we have the support of civil society and corporates and they are doing so much to make our city clean and green,” said R.L. Parameshwaraiah, Chief Engineer- Lakes, BBMP.

“UWBe’s development initiatives are designed to ensure that corporates derive maximum impact from their investments. With water taking centerstage in the push for cleaner and greener environments in recent times, this initiative is a step towards meeting the objectives of policy makers, corporates and civil society at large. Thanks to the coordinated team efforts of all, this was made possible, said Rajesh Krishnan, Executive Director, UWBe.

“We hope that this project serves as an example for managing untreated wastewater that enters our lakes in large quantities.  It is very commendable that corporates have come together to fund this project. The CSR financing allowed us to implement the project in a Design-Build model that provided for a more dynamic implementation approach to accommodate unforeseen site conditions,” said PG Ganapathy, Director (Programs), CDD Society.