Anand Malligavad is the head Projects and CSR of Sansera Foundation. He spearheaded the CSR initiative by his company to restore Kyalasanahalli lake in Anekal Taluk outside Bangalore. When the company
started this initiative in early 2017, there was hardly any water in the lake, and the lake suffered from encroachment and dumping of construction materials. We will first screen a short movie that describes
how Anand and his team worked with the villages around the lake to reclaim land from encroachment, desilt the lake and increase its water holding capacity by 27 times. With heavy monsoons last year, the lake
is now fully restored. Partnering with the NGO SayTrees, 6000 saplings were planted by volunteers on World Environment Day last year, including a large Miyawaki forest where local species of trees are
planted in high density. The lake environment is now attracting many species of birds, fish and insects and may serve as an interesting venue for ecological research. Anand will describe how the success of
this project has inspired other companies to take up restoration of other lakes in Anekal taluk-- the goal being to rejuvenate all the interconnected lakes in that area. He will briefly talk about other CSR
projects of his company in that area, including working with 22 government schools to improve the quality of education, and involve children in planting Miyawaki forests in their school compounds. Anand will
also provide pointers on approaching companies for CSR funding for environmentally or socially relevant projects.