Lakes of Bendakaluru

Satellite view: Esri, Maxar, Earthstar Geographics

Bilijaji Kere

Also called Biijaji Lake

Kere, a large tank, in Bilijaji village, Bengaluru North taluk

See it on the map
Size
8.36 acresAbout 4.7 football pitches
Rank by size
833rd largestOf 1,621 lakes that still exist
Valley
Arkavathi
Who looks after it
ZPZilla Panchayat
Water quality
Not tested for water quality yet
Built over
0% of the lakeSatellite, 2021. The 2018 survey found 0.2% encroached.

Through the years

Nothing on record for 1909 to 1913, 1915 to 1954, 1956 to 1973 and 1975 to 1983.

The records listed below, drawn on one line from 1908 to 2026.

  1. 1908

    Built

    As the 2018 lake survey records it

    See source

  2. 1914

    Not 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. 1974

    On the survey map

    See source

  5. 1984-2021

    Held water in 20 of 33 years

    Water in 7% of all satellite passes, 1984-2024

    0% of its water area has since gone dry; 50% is new water

    5 years not counted: the satellite saw under half the lake

    See sourceSee source

  6. 1986

    Listed among green belt tanks by the Lakshman Rau committee

    Printed as Bilijaji tank, tank 301

    14.8 ha, as printed in the 1986 report

    Among the tanks between Tumkur Road and Bellary Road, Bangalore North taluk

    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

    0.2% encroached, muddy, 30.8 acres surveyed

    See source

  10. 2025-2026

    Mostly dry or built after the monsoon and in the dry season

    After monsoon, Oct 2025 to Dec 2025

    • 2% open water
    • 6% floating weed
    • 93% dry or built

    Dry season, Mar 2026 to May 2026

    • 0% open water
    • 0% floating weed
    • 100% dry or built
    See source

How big it is

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

Drawn outline
8.36 acres

About 4.7 football pitches

See source
2018 lake survey
30.8 acres

About 17 football pitches

See source
End to end
392 m

The longest straight line across the outline

See source
Deepest point, 2018
3 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
Muddy
See source
What pollutes it, 2018

Agriculture runoff

See source
Inlet and outlet tests, 2017-18
1 readings
See source
Every reading
Show every reading

Inlet and outlet tests, 2017-18 lake survey

DateWhereWater temperature°CLight transparencycmpHConductivityµS/cmDissolved solidsmg/LSuspended solidsmg/LTurbidityNTUDissolved oxygenmg/LCODmg/LBODmg/LTotal phosphateKjeldahl nitrogenmg/L as NTotal coliformMPN/100mL
2017-11-2427.4247.11309855.54.28019.20.17170
See source

How much is built over

Built inside the outline
0%

From satellite land cover, 2021

See source
Encroached area, 2017
0.47 acres

Reported by the state legislature’s committee on lake encroachment

See source
Encroached by

Farmers

See source
Taken for

Agriculture

See source
Where it is encroached

On the south and west side

See source
Dumped in it

Garbage

See source
Other problems noted

Soil excavation

See source
Land record maps
See source
Land within 500 m

70% crops, 15% trees, 12% shrubs, 2% built, 1% grass

From satellite land cover, 2021

See source

Who looks after it

Looked after by
Zilla Panchayat

ZP

See source

Where its water comes from and goes

Valley
Arkavathi

The river basin its water drains to

See source
Water comes from
See source
Overflows into

Arkavathi river

See source
Catchment
2.7 km²

The land that drains into it

See source
Fed by, 2018 survey

Rainfall

See source
Built parts, 2018 survey

2 inlet drains, 1 overflow weir, 1 sluice gate, no culverts, no check dams and no islands

See source
Used for, 2018 survey

Irrigation

See source

What lives here

Animals seen, 2018 survey

Butterflies and dragonflies

See source
Weed cover, 2018 survey

Partial

See source

Around it

Around it in 2018

Agriculture, layout, plantation

See source

Photos

No photos of it on Wikimedia Commons yet.

Where it is

Greater Bengaluru
Outside the city limits
See source
Village
Bilijaji

Hesaraghatta hobli, Bengaluru North taluk, Bengaluru Urban district

See source
Land survey numbers

40

See source
Height above sea level
863 m
See source
Coordinates

13.1319° N, 77.4678° E

See source

Read more

OpenStreetMap
See source
Its number in each record
ATREE lake map
194
2018 lake survey
BUBNHGblj_kr1-375
Lake Development Authority
LDA057
KGIS tank map
442
Water bodies census
1/12/002/000002/000081/001