Archive · 14 Aug 2026
Bengaluru Man Restores 18 Lakes, Plants 1.5 Lakh Native Trees
In Bengaluru, a big city in India, there used to be many lakes.
Over time, many of them disappeared under trash and new buildings.
A man named Harsha Tej felt sad about this and wanted to help.
He quit his job and started cleaning up the lakes.
He and his group, called BlueDot Foundation, have cleaned up 18 lakes in a region named Karnataka.
They also planted more than one and a half lakh trees, which is 150,000 trees.
Healthy lakes and trees help birds come back and make the ground hold more water.
That helps the city avoid big floods and keeps water available for people.
Harsha wants to bring back the beautiful Bengaluru he remembers.
Harsha Tej quit his job to restore lakes in Bengaluru that were disappearing beneath concrete and waste.
His BlueDot Foundation has helped restore 18 lakes across Karnataka.
The foundation has planted more than 1.5 lakh (150,000) native trees.
Bengaluru floods every monsoon even as the city struggles for water.
Restored lakes can bring back birds, recharge groundwater, rebuild ecosystems, and reduce flood impact.
- Who
- Harsha Tej, founder of the BlueDot Foundation
- What
- Restored 18 lakes and planted more than 1.5 lakh native trees across Karnataka
- When
- Not specified in the articles
- Where
- Bengaluru and other locations across Karnataka, India
- Why
- To revive lakes that once defined Bengaluru and address the city's monsoon flooding and water struggles
- Activist
- Harsha Tej
- Organization
- BlueDot Foundation
- Lakes restored
- 18 across Karnataka
- Native trees planted
- More than 1.5 lakh (150,000)
- Location
- Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
- Restoration activities
- Clearing invasive growth, planting native trees, rebuilding habitats
- Background issue
- Bengaluru floods every monsoon yet struggles for water