It was as early as December 1969 that The Mother spoke about the Lake.
She took up an idea from Roger Anger, Auroville’s chief architect, that there should be an island at the center of Auroville surrounded by running water which would be used for the water supply of the city. And in 1970, in order to make Her wishes completely clear She wrote, “It has been decided and remains decided that the Matrimandir will be surrounded with water. However, water is not available just now and will be available only later; so it is decided to build the Matrimandir now and surround it with water only later; perhaps in a few years’ time… The Matrimandir will be built now and water brought round it later.”
The shape and size of the future island were finalised early in 1971 (and hence the location of the Lake’s inner bank) when the Mother approved Roger Anger’s model of the Island whose shape is an oval, identical to that of Matrimandir’s vertical section but 10 times larger (360m x 290m) She commented that “10 is the number of accomplishment”.
Roger Anger’s final plan of the Matrimandir area shows a 162,000m² lake with an average width of 115m.
The Matrimandir Lake project has great relevance for water management and town planning in India, since it is the only project in India which is of that high technical level, of a depth of 10 metres and a size of 1 billion litre storing-capacity. Once the Matrimandir Lake is completed to its full size, it will be the prototype of urban artificial water storage for runoff water in India, which will most probably be copied in its technology of construction, its handling of the biological poise and water quality, and its maintenance, all over India.
The Lake First Section is fully waterproof up to full 10 metre wall height in August 2024.
The 1st section of the Matrimandir Lake has the following dimensions:
April 2022 marked the completion of the excavation and lining of the one kilometer, 7.5 meter wide Open Water Channel, which temporarily surrounds the Park of Unity. The channel was then completed with a protective layer of gravel and the water body was brought alive by introducing many flowering plants, especially water lilies and lotuses of a wide variety of colors. Then varieties of native fresh water fish were introduced to keep it mosquito free. Quickly nature took advantage of this beautiful habitat and birds, turtles and water snakes spontaneously began to appear, A part of the northern shore line was then beautified by several designers each showing examples of what could be done in the future along the whole inner shoreline of the Lake.
The Open Water Channel forms the first outline of the water body envisaged by the Mother as surrounding the Park of Unity, to act as an “isolating zone”, separating the peace of the Park of Unity from the hustle and bustle of the City on the outer shore.
Initially the purpose of the Open Water Channel was to harvest rainwater; catching all the rainwater runoff from the 22 acres of the Park of Unity and directing it into the Test Lake constructed on the southeastern side of the Gardens. However In November 2024, all the water harvested in Test Lake spilled into the next phase of the excavation, Lake section 2, and percolated into the aquifer below.
Bit by bit, as the excavation of the Lake is being extended; the Open Water Channel is disappearing as it is absorbed into the inner shoreline of the Lake, as can already be seen on the southern shoreline.
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