Raviprasad Kamila/The Hindu

• Silt was last removed from the tank in 2002 
• The tank is spread over three acres
• ‘People are dumping plastics and building material into it’

Mangalore, Sep 3: Gujjara Kere, an ancient tank spread over three acres, near Jeppu market in Mangalore city is crying for attention.

Office-bearers of the Gujjara Kere Theertha Samrakshna Vedike, a forum of local residents, have been urging the Government for the last six years to restore the tank.

The vedike members are apprehensive that if the Government delays the tank’s restoration, it will be difficult to prevent it from being encroached upon.

If silt is removed from the tank and if it is restored and maintained properly, the Mangalore City Corporation (MCC) can use the water to meet the drinking water needs of the city, they said and added that it would also reduce the dependence of the corporation on the Nethravathi water for the purpose.

As houses in Jeppu area have underground drainage system, there was no threat of sewage percolating from sceptic tanks into Gujjara Kere, they said.

P. Nemu Kottari, secretary of the vedike, told The Hindu that the tank was about 20 ft deep. The last time the Department of Minor Irrigation removed silt from it was in 2002.

However, restoration works such as construction of stone steps and compound wall, and beautification works were not taken up then. The works were not taken up as there was heavy rainfall after silt was removed, he said and added that since then the tank was in a pitiable condition.

Silt has been accumulated in the tank. The tank was full of weeds, he said and added that it looked more like a field than a water body.

Pleas

Mr. Kottari said that the vedike members had urged MLAs, MPs, deputy commissioners, district in-charge ministers and officials concerned to take steps to remove silt from the tank and restore it.

“Every one responds positively and replies to our letters. However, nothing has happened in reality,” he said.

According to him, wells in nearly 800 houses nearby have never gone dry because the tank water recharges the groundwater table. The tank does not dry even in peak summer.

“If the tank is allowed to die, people in the area will have to depend on the corporation for water. This will increase the burden on the civic body,” he said.

Mr. Kottari alleged that the MCC authorities had connected a pipe from a manhole to the tank. Whenever the system got clogged, sewage enters the tank through the pipe, he claimed.

Mr. Kottari said that people were dumping plastics and building material into the tank.

However, Premananda Shetty, chairman of the MCC Standing Committee on Health, Education and Social Justice, refuted the claim. He said that there was no such pipe from any manhole.

N. Yogish Bhat, MLA representing the area, said at a press conference recently that the Government was planning to restore the tank.

J. Krishna Palemar, Minister in-charge of Dakshina Kannada, has also promised to restore it, Mr. Kottari added.