Lakes of Bendakaluru

Satellite view: Esri, Maxar, Earthstar Geographics

Kembathahali Kere

Kere, a large tank, in Anjanapura ward, Bengaluru South

See it on the map
Size
3.58 acresAbout 2 football pitches
Rank by size
1114th largestOf 1,621 lakes that still exist
Valley
Suvarnamukhi
Who looks after it
BBMPBruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike
Water quality
Fit only for wildlife and fishTested Jul 2026
Built over
0% of the lakeSatellite, 2021. The 2018 survey found 2% encroached.
Campaign
Residents are organising here

Through the years

Nothing on record for 1957 to 1979 and 1981 to 1983.

The records listed below, drawn on one line from 1956 to 2026.

  1. 1956

    Built

    As the 2018 lake survey records it

    See source

  2. 1980

    Not on the survey map

    See source

  3. 1984-2021

    Held water until 2011

    Water in 9% of all satellite passes, 1984-2024

    0% of its water area has since gone dry; 35% is new water

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

    See sourceSee source

  4. 2017-2018

    In the water bodies census, not marked as encroached

    This census's status marks are often wrong

    See source

  5. 2017-2025

    Mostly built on or bare in most years

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

    See source

  6. 2018

    Still there in the 2018 lake survey

    2% encroached, polluted, 6.53 acres surveyed

    See source

  7. 2025-2026

    Tested by the state board in 10 months, most often fit only for wildlife and fish

    Sep 2025 to Jul 2026

    See every testSee source

  8. 2025-2026

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

    After monsoon, Oct 2025 to Dec 2025

    • 18% open water
    • 59% floating weed
    • 23% dry or built

    Dry season, Mar 2026 to May 2026

    • 0% open water
    • 6% floating weed
    • 94% dry or built
    See source

How big it is

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

Drawn outline
3.58 acres

About 2 football pitches

See source
2018 lake survey
6.53 acres

About 3.7 football pitches

See source
End to end
236 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

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 10 times since Sep 2025
Fit only for wildlife and fish: 10 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 south-west

See source
Every reading
Show every reading

Latest test, Jul 2026. Too low to measure: boron, carbonate, phenolphthalein alkalinity, kjeldahl nitrogen

MeasureUnitValue
Water temperature°C26
Dissolved oxygenmg/L4.8
pH7.9
ConductivityµS/cm1,470
BODmg/L5
Nitratemg/L as N5.64
Nitritemg/L as N0.1
Faecal coliformMPN/100mL490
Total coliformMPN/100mL1,500
Bicarbonatemg/L410
TurbidityNTU26.4
Total alkalinitymg/L as CaCO3410
Chloridemg/L21
CODmg/L64
Ammonia nitrogenmg/L as N0.5
Total hardnessmg/L as CaCO3190
Calcium hardnessmg/L as CaCO3130
Calciummg/L52
Magnesium hardnessmg/L as CaCO360
Magnesiummg/L14.6
Sulphatemg/L92
Sodiummg/L147
Dissolved solidsmg/L976
Suspended solidsmg/L36
Phosphatemg/L0.9
Potassiummg/L15
Fluoridemg/L0.31
Sodium share%60
Sodium adsorption ratio4.64
Orthophosphatemg/L2.3

Every month the state board tested it

MonthClassDissolved oxygenmg/LBODmg/LFaecal coliformMPN/100mLTotal coliformMPN/100mLSource
Jul 2026D4.854901,500See source
Jun 2026D574702,800See source
Apr 2026D5.752202,400See source
Mar 2026D5.171702,400See source
Feb 2026D5.864305,400See source
Jan 2026D6.244603,500See source
Dec 2025D6.363201,700See source
Nov 2025D642603,500See source
Oct 2025D5.363403,500See source
Sep 2025D571401,100See source

How much is built over

Built inside the outline
0%

From satellite land cover, 2021

See source
Encroached area, 2017
0.63 acres

Reported by the state legislature’s committee on lake encroachment

See source
Encroached by

The public

See source
Taken for

Temple, road

See source
Where it is encroached

On the south and north-east side

See source
Dumped in it

Garbage & construction debris

See source
Land within 500 m

61% built, 15% trees, 12% crops, 7% shrubs, 5% grass, 0.9% bare ground

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
Campaign pages
See source

Where its water comes from and goes

Valley
Suvarnamukhi

The river basin its water drains to

See source
Overflows into

Alahalli Kere

See source
Catchment
0.3 km²

The land that drains into it

See source
Fed by, 2018 survey

Rain & drain fed

See source
Built parts, 2018 survey

1 inlet drain, no overflow weirs, no sluice gates, no culverts, no check dams and no islands

See source
Used for, 2018 survey

Cattle feeding

See source

What lives here

Birds recorded
60 species

Most seen: Indian Pond-Heron, Black Kite, Ashy Prinia, Purple Sunbird and Red-whiskered Bulbul.

228 sightings, mostly from birdwatchers

See source
All wildlife recorded
60 species

228 records, 2020 to 2025

See source
Photographed on iNaturalist
1 times

1 species, 1 confirmed by other naturalists.

Most seen: Little Egret.

Last seen May 2025

See source
Animals seen, 2018 survey

Birds

See source
Water plants, 2018 survey

Emergent and rooted floating

See source
Weed cover, 2018 survey

Partial

See source

Around it

Around it in 2018

Temple, coconut plantation, government school & apartment

See source

Photos

No photos of it on Wikimedia Commons yet.

Where it is

Ward 40
Anjanapura

ಅಂಜನಾಪುರ

Bengaluru South corporation, Bangalore South assembly seat

See source
Village
Kembathanahalli

Uttarahalli hobli, Bengaluru South taluk, Bengaluru Urban district

See source
Land survey numbers

3 (Kembathahalli), 32 (Kothanuru)

See source
Height above sea level
953 m
See source
Coordinates

12.8585° N, 77.5770° E

See source

Read more

OpenStreetMap
See source
Its number in each record
ATREE lake map
14
2018 lake survey
BUBSUHkbt_kr1-1347
Lake Development Authority
LDA282
Water bodies census
2/12/002/276600/1302868/002
City lake monitoring site
163