Lakes of Bendakaluru

Satellite view: Esri, Maxar, Earthstar Geographics

Hosakerehalli Kere

Kere, a large tank, in Bangarappa Nagara ward, Bengaluru West

See it on the map
Size
55.0 acresAbout 31 football pitches
Rank by size
154th largestOf 1,621 lakes that still exist
Valley
Vrishabhavathi
Who looks after it
BBMPBruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike
Water quality
Fit only for wildlife and fishTested Jul 2026
Built over
8% of the lakeSatellite, 2021. The 2018 survey found 3% encroached.

Through the years

Nothing on record for 1904 to 1944, 1946 to 1954, 1956 to 1979 and 1981 to 1983.

The records listed below, drawn on one line from 1903 to 2026.

  1. 1903

    Built

    As the 2018 lake survey records it

    See source

  2. 1945

    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. 1980

    On the survey map

    See source

  5. 1984-2021

    Held water in 1 of 38 years

    Floating weed looks like dry land to this record, so a weed-covered year can read as dry

    See sourceSee source

  6. 2017-2025

    Mostly plants or weed every year

    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

  7. 2018

    Still there in the 2018 lake survey

    3% encroached, polluted, 59.6 acres surveyed

    See source

  8. 2023-2026

    Tested by the state board in 35 months, most often fit only for irrigation

    Jul 2023 to Jul 2026

    See every testSee source

  9. 2024

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

    See source

  10. 2025-2026

    Mostly floating weed after the monsoon; mostly dry or built in the dry season

    After monsoon, Oct 2025 to Dec 2025

    • 0% open water
    • 60% floating weed
    • 40% dry or built

    Dry season, Mar 2026 to May 2026

    • 0% open water
    • 31% floating weed
    • 69% dry or built
    See source

How big it is

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

Drawn outline
55.0 acres

About 31 football pitches

See source
2018 lake survey
59.6 acres

About 34 football pitches

See source
End to end
701 m

The longest straight line across the outline

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

How clean the water is

Latest test
Fit only for wildlife and fish

Fit only for wildlife and fisheries. Class D on the state board’s scale from A, the cleanest, to E.

Tested Jul 2026

See source
Class each month, tested 35 times since Jul 2023
Fit only for wildlife and fish: 13 months. Fit only for irrigation: 22 months. Every month is listed in the readings below.
Drinkable after disinfection
Fit for bathing
Drinkable after treatment
Fit only for wildlife and fish
Fit only for irrigation
See source
How it looked in 2018
Polluted
See source
What pollutes it, 2018

Sewage

See source
Sewage flows in, 2018

From the north-east and south-east

See source
Older tests
2 readings

From 2021

See source
Every reading
Show every reading

Latest test, Jul 2026. Too low to measure: boron, carbonate, dissolved oxygen, fluoride, nitrite, phenolphthalein alkalinity

MeasureUnitValue
Water temperature°C29
pH6.5
ConductivityµS/cm533
BODmg/L52
Nitratemg/L as N2
Faecal coliformMPN/100mL7,000
Total coliformMPN/100mL17,000
Bicarbonatemg/L284
TurbidityNTU60.8
Total alkalinitymg/L as CaCO3284
Chloridemg/L40
CODmg/L212
Kjeldahl nitrogenmg/L as N14
Ammonia nitrogenmg/L as N11
Total hardnessmg/L as CaCO3196
Calcium hardnessmg/L as CaCO3100
Calciummg/L40
Magnesium hardnessmg/L as CaCO396
Magnesiummg/L23.3
Sulphatemg/L16
Sodiummg/L53
Dissolved solidsmg/L368
Suspended solidsmg/L66
Phosphatemg/L1.4
Potassiummg/L5
Sodium share%36
Sodium adsorption ratio1.6
Orthophosphatemg/L3.3

Every month the state board tested it

MonthClassDissolved oxygenmg/LBODmg/LFaecal coliformMPN/100mLTotal coliformMPN/100mLSource
Jul 2026D527,00017,000See source
Jun 2026E1273,2009,400See source
May 2026E1.8282,2007,900See source
Apr 2026E1.2581,40,0004,60,000See source
Mar 2026E5414,00,00046,00,000See source
Feb 2026E1.7567001,700See source
Jan 2026E1.2392,60012,000See source
Dec 2025E1.7151,40,0004,60,000See source
Nov 2025D4.662309,200See source
Oct 2025E2.6191702,800See source
Sep 2025E691,10,0004,90,000See source
Aug 2025E341,70011,000See source
Jul 2025D4102002,800See source
Jun 2025E0.4661,4007,000See source
May 2025E2.281,40014,000See source
Apr 2025E274503,300See source
Mar 2025E3.4191,70,0008,40,000See source
Feb 2025D4.11017,00046,000See source
Jan 2025E601,7007,900See source
Dec 2024D4201,70014,000See source
Nov 2024D4.386,80033,000See source
Oct 2024E1.8232404,300See source
Sep 2024D5.462604,300See source
Aug 2024D4.6814,00070,000See source
Jul 2024E672,40035,000See source
Jun 2024E0.8163,30011,000See source
May 2024E1.7101,1004,600See source
Apr 2024D4.291,40013,000See source
Mar 2024E1.5172403,500See source
Feb 2024E1194,90013,000See source
Jan 2024E171,70024,000See source
Dec 2023D5.846,30092,000See source
Oct 2023D5.364,9001,60,000See source
Sep 2023D4.85See source
Jul 2023D4.944,90092,000See source

Older tests

DateWhereReadingWater temperature°CDissolved oxygenmg/LpHConductivityµS/cmBODmg/LNitrate and nitritemg/L as NFaecal coliformMPN/100mLTotal coliformMPN/100mLSource
2021Hosakerehalli Lake, LakeLowest250.36.555050.73,30024,000See source
2021Hosakerehalli Lake, LakeHighest25.1671,576784.57,00,00035,00,000See source

How much is built over

Built inside the outline
8%

From satellite land cover, 2021

See source
Encroached area, 2017
7.03 acres

Reported by the state legislature’s committee on lake encroachment

See source
Encroached by

NICE and private owners

See source
Taken for

Road, factory, houses

See source
Where it is encroached

On the north-west and south-east side

See source
Dumped in it

Garbage & construction debris

See source
Other problems noted

RTC_5.39 a-g is leased to NICE by KIADB

See source
Land record maps
See source
Land within 500 m

75% built, 8% trees, 8% crops, 5% shrubs, 4% grass

From satellite land cover, 2021

See source

Who looks after it

Looked after by
Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike

BBMP

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
Vrishabhavathi

The river basin its water drains to

See source
Water comes from
See source
Overflows into

Kengeri 2

See source
Catchment
11.6 km²

The land that drains into it

See source
Fed by, 2018 survey

Rain & drain fed

See source
Built parts, 2018 survey

2 inlet drains, 1 overflow weir, no sluice gates, 1 culvert, no check dams and no islands

See source
Used for, 2018 survey

Fishing, cattle feeding and washing

See source
Nearest sewage treatment plant

Vrishabhavathi Valley 150MLD Sewage Treatment Plant

1.7 km away, treats 150 million litres a day

See source

What lives here

Birds recorded
127 species

Most seen: Black Kite, Western Swamphen, Indian Pond-Heron, Ashy Prinia and Rose-ringed Parakeet.

6,679 sightings, mostly from birdwatchers

See source
All wildlife recorded
165 species

6,728 records, 1962 to 2024

See source
Threatened species seen here
2
  • Spot-billed Pelican near threatened
  • Indian Roller near threatened
See source
Photographed on iNaturalist
143 times

73 species, 87 confirmed by other naturalists.

Most seen: Common Castor Butterfly, Black-headed Ibis, Yellow-Throated Morning Glory, Malabar nut and Jungle Myna.

Last seen Aug 2025

See source
Animals seen, 2018 survey

Birds

See source
Water plants, 2018 survey

Submerged and rooted floating

See source
Weed cover, 2018 survey

Complete

See source

Around it

Around it in 2018

Settlement, plantation, layout, temple & hill

See source

Photos

Hosakerehalli Kere, photographed in 2024
Gpkp / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons, 2024
Hosakerehalli Kere, photographed in 2024
Gpkp / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons, 2024
Hosakerehalli Kere, photographed in 2024
Gpkp / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons, 2024
Hosakerehalli Kere, photographed in 2024
Gpkp / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons, 2024
Hosakerehalli Kere, photographed in 2024
Gpkp / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons, 2024
Hosakerehalli Kere, photographed in 2024
Gpkp / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons, 2024
Hosakerehalli Kere, photographed in 2024
Gpkp / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons, 2024
Hosakerehalli Kere, photographed in 2024
Gpkp / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons, 2024
Hosakerehalli Kere, photographed in 2024
Gpkp / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons, 2024

Where it is

Ward 22
Bangarappa Nagara

ಬಂಗಾರಪ್ಪ ನಗರ

Bengaluru West corporation, Rajarajeshwarinagar assembly seat

See source
Village
Hosakerehalli

Uttarahalli hobli, Bengaluru South taluk, Bengaluru Urban district

See source
Land survey numbers

15

See source
Height above sea level
834 m
See source
Coordinates

12.9265° N, 77.5344° E

See source

Read more

OpenStreetMap
See source
Its number in each record
ATREE lake map
484
2018 lake survey
BUBSUHhkr_kr1-1339
KGIS tank map
1026
City lake monitoring site
132