Why just old-timers, even younger people (in their forties and fifties) also vouch that the water-level in the Futala (Telangkhedi) Lake has gone down -- sunk -- in the past 20 years ! They also assert that the lake has shrunk in its expanse by a sizeable percentage ! Futala, thus, is a sinking, shrinking lake ! Like most other lakes in the historic city of Nagpur ! Very painstakingly, avowedly, Nagpur is slowly but surely putting its lakes to ‘sleep’ (which, in English, means ‘death’). Almost every lake in the city offers a clear evidence of this.

 

 

 

 

In Futala’s case, the details are really gory, to say the least. Systematically, the officials are making every possible effort to make the lake ‘die’ -- which, in other words, means ‘kill’ it. Those were the days when swarms of swimmers took a plunge into the waters of Futala morning and evening. Even afternoons were not spared, and there also were late-evening swimmers who loved the dark halo that enveloped the lake in after-hours. On one such dive, Anil Awasthi, then in his twenties, and a friend of his dived into the lake on an assignment from the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), and suddenly spotted a window-like opening in the eastern retaining wall of the lake lining the road on the top of the tank bund. A professional diver assigned to help people in distress -- and also fish out human bodies drowned in the Futala waters, Awasthi was intrigued by that opening.

 

He reported the finding to his NMC bosses. They asked him and his friend to explore further. So, with the help of a 20-30 feet long bamboo pole, they explored the depth of the space beyond the opening. They found a cavern-like space about 30 feet deep running perpendicularly across the tank bund-street above. Anil Awasthi, now a 78-year-old resident of the Futala Basti, recalls that the cavern he and his friend spotted those many years ago was actually right under where the cemented viewers’ gallery is situated on the eastern bank of the Futala Lake. Today, Awasthi’s concern is clear: The cavern could be a point of risk to the gallery above. Or, seen from another angle, the cavern could be in danger of caving in due to the weight of the viewers’ gallery. Naturally, then, the tank-bund road, too, could be in danger or risk of caving in. May these concerns be addressed separately by the authorities -- if they really take time and inclination to care for the Futala Lake. But time it is now to address other and equally important concerns that include sinking of water-level in the lake, and shrinking of its size.

 

Why Anil Awasthi alone, many others also vouch that the water-level in the Futala Lake until about twenty years ago was much higher than it today is. During rainy season, the Futala waters would rise as high as ground-level -- so much so that many would pick up courage to lean over and splash the water. If the waters did not rise to that level, they did rise (much above the current level -- may be by 8-10 feet). Those water-levels, however, have remained only matters of dying memories and dreams. For, the Futala Lake is sinking and shrinking. The northern edge of the Futala waters was hugging the foot of the Botanical Garden Hill -- and rose many feet up the hillside during rainy season. The land-depression between the Botanical Garden Hill and the road snaking up the hill to the Indian Air Force Maintenance Command Gate also would get filled up by the rising and expanding waters of Futala. Then came the infamous encroachment of that lake-trunk (depression) and the waters started staying back. Thanks to the judicial intervention, the encroachment has now been removed.

 

Yet, one may not be able to tell if the expanse of the water would really expand into that valley ever. So, in simple -- but disturbing -- terms, the northern side of the lake has already shrunk by about 200 feet. And on the southern side of the lake, there is some construction and a jetty-like jutting up to the water’s edge near which are ‘parked’ a few country boats. The space around the jetty is used for washing of trucks etc for quite many years. Fortunately, that activity has been suspended -- much to the relief of lovers of environment. It is on the southern side that the authorities are constructing a long wall of several hundred meters (read ‘The Hitavada’ CityLine of July 3, 2025). The latest invasion of the lake came when the authorities built a so-called musical fountain in the middle of the waters and also built the viewers’ gallery and a parking facility across the road. The fountain is moribund, and the viewers’ gallery looks like a tomb to developmental tall-talk (read ‘falsehood’) of a few political elements. Who is going to sort out all this man-made jumble -- which looks clearly deliberate ?