Satellite view: Esri, Maxar, Earthstar Geographics

Sarakki Lake

ಸರಕ್ಕಿ ಕೆರೆ

Also called sarraki kere, Jaraganahalli kere(sarrakki kere), Sarrakki kere, Sarakki Kere

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

See it on the map

Size

56.8 acresAbout 32 football pitches

Rank by size

147th largestOf 1,621 lakes that still exist

Valley

Koramangala-Challaghatta

Who looks after it

BBMPBruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike

Water quality

Fit only for irrigationTested Jul 2026

Built over

2% of the lakeSatellite, 2021. The 2018 survey found 10% encroached.

Campaign

Residents are organising here

Through the years

Nothing on record for 1905 to 1944, 1946 to 1954, 1956 to 1979 and 1981 to 1983.

Water seen by satellite each year, up to 44.1 acres. Grey: years it saw under half the lake

What covers it each year:waterbuilt on or bareplants or weed

1904

1945

1955

1980

1984

1904
Built
As the 2018 lake survey records it
See source
1945
On the survey map
See source
1955
On the U.S. Army map
Compiled from Survey of India maps of 1945-46
See source
1980
On the survey map
See source
1984-2021
Held water every year
Water in 21% of all satellite passes, 1984-2024
0% of its water area has since gone dry; 69% is new water
35 years not counted: the satellite saw under half the lake
See source See source
2017-2018
In the water bodies census, not marked as encroached
This census's status marks are often wrong
See source
2017-2025
No one cover holds over half of it in most years
About three in four of these readings are right, so trust what holds for several years
See source
2018
Still there in the 2018 lake survey
10% encroached, polluted, 82.6 acres surveyed
See source
2023-2026
Tested by the state board in 36 months, most often fit only for wildlife and fish
Jul 2023 to Jul 2026
See every test See source
2025-2026
Mostly open water after the monsoon and in the dry season
After monsoon, Oct 2025 to Dec 2025
91% open water
8% floating weed
1% dry or built
Dry season, Mar 2026 to May 2026
88% open water
6% floating weed
6% dry or built
See source

How big it is

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

Drawn outline

56.8 acres

About 32 football pitches

See source

Land records

82.6 acres

About 47 football pitches

See source

2018 lake survey

82.6 acres

About 47 football pitches

See source

End to end

1.0 km

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

Latest test

Fit only for irrigation

Fit only for irrigation, cooling and waste disposal. Class E on the state board’s scale from A, the cleanest, to E.

Tested Jul 2026

See source

Class each month, tested 36 times since Jul 2023

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-west and south-west

See source

Older tests

2 readings

From 2021

See source

Inlet and outlet tests, 2017-18

1 readings

See source

Every reading

Show every reading

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

Measure	Unit	Value
Water temperature	°C	29
Dissolved oxygen	mg/L	3.5
pH		7.7
Conductivity	µS/cm	618
BOD	mg/L	11
Nitrate	mg/L as N	2.37
Nitrite	mg/L as N	0.06
Faecal coliform	MPN/100mL	630
Total coliform	MPN/100mL	9,200
Bicarbonate	mg/L	190
Turbidity	NTU	32.1
Total alkalinity	mg/L as CaCO3	190
Chloride	mg/L	30
COD	mg/L	108
Kjeldahl nitrogen	mg/L as N	2.1
Ammonia nitrogen	mg/L as N	1.4
Total hardness	mg/L as CaCO3	190
Calcium hardness	mg/L as CaCO3	110
Calcium	mg/L	44
Magnesium hardness	mg/L as CaCO3	80
Magnesium	mg/L	19.4
Sulphate	mg/L	42
Sodium	mg/L	62
Dissolved solids	mg/L	412
Suspended solids	mg/L	42
Phosphate	mg/L	0.36
Potassium	mg/L	6
Fluoride	mg/L	0.32
Sodium share	%	40
Sodium adsorption ratio		1.95
Orthophosphate	mg/L	0.91

Every month the state board tested it

Month	Class	Dissolved oxygenmg/L	BODmg/L	Faecal coliformMPN/100mL	Total coliformMPN/100mL	Source
Jul 2026	E	3.5	11	630	9,200	See source
Jun 2026	D	4.2	6	430	1,500	See source
May 2026	D	4.3	6	460	3,500	See source
Apr 2026	D	4.7	6	460	3,500	See source
Mar 2026	D	4	7	490	2,400	See source
Feb 2026	D	5.3	6	630	5,400	See source
Jan 2026	D	6	4	330	4,300	See source
Dec 2025	D	4.8	8	240	2,800	See source
Nov 2025	D	6.5	4	320	4,300	See source
Oct 2025	D	5.3	5	310	2,800	See source
Sep 2025	D	4.9	9	310	4,300	See source
Aug 2025	D	5.5	4	110	2,400	See source
Jul 2025	D	5.2	7	240	3,500	See source
Jun 2025	D	6.6	5	25	920	See source
May 2025	D	5	6	260	2,200	See source
Apr 2025	D	4.2	5	25	1,600	See source
Mar 2025	D	5.1	6	170	1,200	See source
Feb 2025	D	5.4	4	260	2,800	See source
Jan 2025	D	6.5	4	140	3,500	See source
Dec 2024	D	6.6	4	200	1,200	See source
Nov 2024	D	7.1	4	140	2,400	See source
Oct 2024	D	6.3	6	270	2,400	See source
Sep 2024	D	6	8	17	920	See source
Aug 2024	D	5.3	5	210	3,500	See source
Jul 2024	D	4.2	10	260	5,400	See source
Jun 2024	D	5.2	9	1,400	7,000	See source
May 2024	D	5.2	7	140	1,300	See source
Apr 2024	D	4.2	6.8	2,100	7,000	See source
Mar 2024	D	5.1	4	260	3,500	See source
Feb 2024	D	6.1	4	31	350	See source
Jan 2024	D	4.9	8	390	3,500	See source
Dec 2023	D	5.9	4	700	16,000	See source
Oct 2023	D	5.7	4	790	16,000	See source
Sep 2023	D	4.9	7	4,100	1,60,000	See source
Aug 2023	D	5	7	490	16,000	See source
Jul 2023	D	4.9	4	460	16,000	See source

Older tests

Date	Where	Reading	Water temperature°C	Dissolved oxygenmg/L	pH	ConductivityµS/cm	BODmg/L	Nitrate and nitritemg/L as N	Faecal coliformMPN/100mL	Total coliformMPN/100mL	Source
2021	Sarakki Lake, Lake	Lowest	25	4.9	6.9	415	3	0.3	3,300	24,000	See source
2021	Sarakki Lake, Lake	Highest	25	7.1	8.2	783	9	5	1,20,000	9,20,000	See source

Inlet and outlet tests, 2017-18 lake survey

Date	Where	Water temperature°C	Light transparencycm	pH	ConductivityµS/cm	Dissolved solidsmg/L	Suspended solidsmg/L	TurbidityNTU	Dissolved oxygenmg/L	CODmg/L	BODmg/L	Total phosphate	Kjeldahl nitrogenmg/L as N	Total coliformMPN/100mL
2018-02-06		24	12	8.1	960	760	6	70	4.1	8	24.1	2	28	1,600

See source

How much is built over

Built inside the outline

From satellite land cover, 2021

See source

Encroached area, 2017

0.06 acres

Reported by the state legislature’s committee on lake encroachment

See source

Encroached by

Government agencies, the public and private owners

See source

Taken for

Temple, building & school

See source

Where it is encroached

On the all, side, of, the and lake side

See source

Dumped in it

Garbage & construction debris

See source

Land record maps

See source

Land within 500 m

94% built, 4% trees, 0.8% grass, 0.6% bare ground, 0.5% water

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

Work in progress

See source

City zone

Bommanahalli

See source

City lake page

Open its page on the city’s lake monitoring site

See source

Residents' groups

Sarakki lake Improvement Trust (SLAIT)

See source

Campaign pages

facebook.com

See source

Where its water comes from and goes

Valley

Koramangala-Challaghatta

The river basin its water drains to

Water comes from

Overflows into

Catchment

5.3 km²

The land that drains into it

See source

Fed by, 2018 survey

Rain & drain fed

See source

Built parts, 2018 survey

5 inlet drains, no overflow weirs, no sluice gates, 1 culvert, no check dams and 1 island

See source

Nearest sewage treatment plant

Sarakki 5MLD Sewage Treatment Plant

510 m away, treats 5 million litres a day

See source

What lives here

Birds recorded

124 species

Most seen: Indian Pond-Heron, Black Kite, Brahminy Kite, Gray Heron and Western Swamphen.

4,470 sightings, mostly from birdwatchers

See source

All wildlife recorded

154 species

4,521 records, 1985 to 2026

See source

Threatened species seen here

Spot-billed Pelican near threatened
Red-necked Falcon near threatened
Indian Roller near threatened
Black Poui vulnerable
River Tern vulnerable

See source

Photographed on iNaturalist

362 times

94 species, 141 confirmed by other naturalists.

Most seen: Grey Heron, Indian Peafowl, Indian Pond-Heron, Brahminy Kite and Burflower-tree.

Last seen Aug 2026

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, temple & school

See source

Surveyor's note, 2018

Mr. Vinaya Kumar, IFS (3.11.16)

See source

Photos

No photos of it on Wikimedia Commons yet.

Where it is

Ward 53

Jaraganahalli

ಜರಗನಹಳ್ಳಿ

Bengaluru South corporation, Bommanahalli assembly seat

See source

Village

Sarakki Kere

Uttarahalli hobli, Bengaluru South taluk, Bengaluru Urban district

See source

Land survey numbers

7 (Jaraganahalli), 26 (Sarrakki Kere), 5 (Puttena halli)

See source

Height above sea level

905 m

See source

Coordinates

12.8983° N, 77.5792° E

See source

Wikipedia

Sarakki lake is a lake in the southern part of Bengaluru, India, in the suburb of the J. P. Nagar. It is one of the largest lakes in Bangalore and located on Puttenahalli main road. Sarakki is a portmanteau of the native Kannada language words, Saavira Hakki, which translates to "a thousand birds".

Read Sarakki lake on Wikipedia

See source

OpenStreetMap