Maralawadi Dam(lake)

17 October 2024,

Kids had half day school this Saturday. We chose Sunday since Monday was holiday for kids school. There wasn't a need to rush to school early Monday morning this week. Therefore we decided to wander this Sunday instead of usual Saturday and the place we chose was Maralawadi dam. We started around 10AM in morning and reached the destination comfortably around 12:30PM. Despite the 50% total distance is covering city limits, it was swift journey thanks to feeble traffic. Looks like city people stayed indoors or would have exited city on Saturday itself? Anyhow, that was advantageous for our drive.

We took south Bengaluru route which is generally hectic in terms of traffic. But Sunday was dry-day for vehicles. It was like thoroughfare crossing the infamous bengaluru traffic despite the metro constructions. We quickly arrived at Electronic city elevated highway and also spotted deviation. The Yellow line metro work is 100% complete but no rails o rails! Bad thing. Dont know whats stopping the authorities to commission this line. Lot of traffic issue would be resolved with this line coming up. Who knows whats the internal matter? I thought it was lobby of private/public players since it would drive away public to metro. Hope to see good news soon despite all the hurdles. I am afraid it would be monument like the abandoned fly-overs of Bengaluru if the operations doesn't start sooner. The entire yellow line stretch seemed like five-star hotel kept for distant watching!

The Maralawadi dam is rather a lake south of Bengaluru city. Its kind of rectangular shape spread longer than wider. The lake is adjacent to NH and is easily accessible. Google navigation took us right to the spot without any glitches. The name is derived from Maralawadi village 3kms from here. Its actually a lake with a spillway to drain excess water downstream.

The source of water is rainwater looks like. Thanks to healthy thunderstorm season, the lake was filled to brim. In fact, the spillway was still wet and draining excess water. The waterbody is surrounded by thick forests on one side and plantations on other side. As we gaze along horizon, distant hills entice us. The clear sight of hills gives us the indication of possible Air Quality Level in this region. This area is protected sanctuary for certain distance bordering both Karnataka and TamilNadu. Not many people here when we landed. Later few folks joined but left early. If you want to play in water, this is not the place. Its for pure nature enjoyment spot. There may be few shores nearby for water play but not official. We didn't explore much though!

The rickety board did not give clear picture of purpose of the lake. My hunch is that the dam storage is  primarily used for irrigation and drinking water. The primary attraction is pier on which you can enjoy panoramic view of the lake. 

Our next visit was impromptu and never planned. Thanks to wonderful wife who quickly skimmed for nearby attractions, we enjoyed thoroughly in this lush green nature beauty. The surprise would be unleashed in my subsequent post! Enjoy the lake glimpses for now!