Lake front development of lakha banjara lake, Sagar

Abstract

The lake of Lakha banjara has been an integral part of the civilization of Sagar since ages, but lately this lake has been facing environmental and social threats some of which are discussed in detail in the study of this thesis. In the past twenty to thirty years, the inlet of various kinds of pollutants and effluents has led to the contamination of the lake water, making its appearance dishevelled and unhygienic. Moreover, recent constructions have their service areas towards the lake. Many secondary settlements and encroachments such as Dhobi Ghats, other slum areas have also been responsible for the exponential pollution growth in recent years. The study primarily focuses upon the conversion and translation of the chaotic and organic lakefront to a vivacious and gregarious place which is celebrated by the town and provides a new face to the town. The lake front is proposed to be a high quality public space, as along with the ecological restoration this precinct requires acknowledgement and participation of the residents of the city. Hence along with the treatment of the lakefront, integration of transportation & accessibility, built areas, activity zones and open land have been the thrust in this thesis project. This study firstly begins with establishing a need for this study and analyze various factors: historical, ecological, congregational, etc. affecting the quality of the precinct The analysis of the existing conditions, one of the vital pre-requisites of the study includes the assessment of all natural features and conditions such as: extents, land use, bio-diversity, water quality, etc. in order to provide a model of the existing lake. This has been carried out from data collected from various secondary sources. The later part of the thesis comprises of the proposals. This part takes into account the various fragments of the Lakha Banjara Lake as a congregational focus for the whole of the city. The proposal conceptually describes a holistic framework of development and details out selected stretches and patches. Phasing of development is also done. The proposal attempts transformation of a chaotic naturally growing hazard to a celebrated quality public space for the city.