Lakes of Bendakaluru

Satellite view: Esri, Maxar, Earthstar Geographics

Atturu Kere

Kere, a large tank, in Doddabettahalli ward, Bengaluru North

See it on the map
Size
70.2 acresAbout 40 football pitches
Rank by size
117th largestOf 1,621 lakes that still exist
Valley
Hebbal
Who looks after it
BBMPBruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike
Water quality
Not tested for water quality yet
Built over
0.1% of the lakeSatellite, 2021. The 2018 survey found 0.9% encroached.

Through the years

Nothing on record for 1905 to 1926, 1928 to 1954, 1956 to 1977 and 1979 to 1983.

The records listed below, drawn on one line from 1904 to 2026.

  1. 1904

    Built

    As the 2018 lake survey records it

    See source

  2. 1927

    On the survey map

    See source

  3. 1955

    On the U.S. Army map

    Compiled from Survey of India maps of 1945-46

    See source

  4. 1978

    On the survey map

    See source

  5. 1984-2021

    Held water in 22 of 38 years

    Water in 2% of all satellite passes, 1984-2024

    3% of its water area has since gone dry; 10% is new water

    See sourceSee source

  6. 2010

    Restored

    See source

  7. 2017-2018

    In the water bodies census, not marked as encroached

    This census's status marks are often wrong

    See source

  8. 2017-2025

    Mostly plants or weed in most years

    Floating weed shows as crops or grass here, not as water

    About three in four of these readings are right, so trust what holds for several years

    See source

  9. 2018

    Still there in the 2018 lake survey

    0.9% encroached, polluted, 90.1 acres surveyed

    See source

  10. 2024

    On the state's list of Bengaluru lakes, looked after by BBMP

    See source

  11. 2025-2026

    Mostly open water after the monsoon and in the dry season

    After monsoon, Oct 2025 to Dec 2025

    • 81% open water
    • 10% floating weed
    • 9% dry or built

    Dry season, Mar 2026 to May 2026

    • 76% open water
    • 15% floating weed
    • 10% dry or built
    See source

How big it is

The records disagree on its size, so each measure is shown.

Drawn outline
70.2 acres

About 40 football pitches

See source
Land records
63.1 acres

About 36 football pitches

See source
2018 lake survey
90.1 acres

About 51 football pitches

See source
End to end
770 m

The longest straight line across the outline

See source
Deepest point, 2018
2 m
See source
Kind of lake
Kere, a large tank
See source

How clean the water is

State pollution board
Not tested by the state board
How it looked in 2018
Polluted
See source
What pollutes it, 2018

Sewage

See source
Sewage flows in, 2018

From the north-west and south-west

See source

How much is built over

Built inside the outline
0.1%

From satellite land cover, 2021

See source
Encroached area, 2017
3.30 acres

Reported by the state legislature’s committee on lake encroachment

See source
Encroached by

Government agencies and the public

See source
Taken for

Road & houses

See source
Where it is encroached

On the south side

See source
Dumped in it

Garbage dump

See source
Land record maps
See source
Land within 500 m

47% built, 27% crops, 16% trees, 6% shrubs, 3% grass, 2% bare ground

From satellite land cover, 2021

See source

Who looks after it

Looked after by
Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike

BBMP

See source
City work on the lake
Developed
See source
City zone
Yelahanka
See source
City lake page

Open its page on the city’s lake monitoring site

See source

Where its water comes from and goes

Valley
Hebbal

The river basin its water drains to

See source
Water comes from
See source
Overflows into

Puttenahalli Lake

See source
Catchment
8.9 km²

The land that drains into it

See source
Fed by, 2018 survey

Rain & drain fed

See source
Built parts, 2018 survey

4 inlet drains, 1 overflow weir, no sluice gates, no culverts, no check dams and no islands

See source
Nearest sewage treatment plant

Yelahanka Waste Water Treatment Plant

1.4 km away

See source

What lives here

Birds recorded
136 species

Most seen: Gray Heron, Black Kite, Western Swamphen, Purple Heron and Eurasian Coot.

4,223 sightings, mostly from birdwatchers

See source
All wildlife recorded
141 species

4,228 records, 2016 to 2026

See source
Threatened species seen here
3
  • Spot-billed Pelican near threatened
  • Indian Roller near threatened
  • Greater spotted eagle vulnerable
See source
Photographed on iNaturalist
61 times

42 species, 34 confirmed by other naturalists.

Most seen: Grey Heron, Oriental Magpie-Robin, Eurasian Moorhen, Mile-a-minute vine and Asian Green Bee-eater.

Last seen Aug 2026

See source
Animals seen, 2018 survey

Reptiles B and dragonflies

See source
Water plants, 2018 survey

Emergent

See source
Weed cover, 2018 survey

Complete

See source

Around it

Around it in 2018

Agriculture land & settlement

See source

Photos

Atturu Kere, photographed in 2025
Vraj Acharya, WELL Labs / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons, 2025

Where it is

Ward 6
Doddabettahalli

ದೊಡ್ಡಬೆಟ್ಟಹಳ್ಳಿ

Bengaluru North corporation, Yelahanka assembly seat

See source
Village
Attur

Yelahanka hobli, Bengaluru North taluk, Bengaluru Urban district

See source
Land survey numbers

81 (Atturu), 12 (Kempanahali), 39 (Ramgondanahalli), 92 (Ananthapura)

See source
Height above sea level
915 m
See source
Coordinates

13.1114° N, 77.5629° E

See source

Read more

OpenStreetMap
See source
Its number in each record
ATREE lake map
68
2018 lake survey
BUBNYHatu_kr2-243
Lake Development Authority
LDA018
KGIS tank map
832
Water bodies census
2/12/002/253189/025974/003
City lake monitoring site
93