The Hindu
MANGALORE, Mar 2: The Mangalore City Corporation has decided to revive the Gujjara Kere, an old lake at Jeppu here, in a phased manner.
The civic body has invited bids from contractors for the first phase of restoration work at an estimated cost of Rs. 99.5 lakh.
The office-bearers of the Gujjara Kere Teertha Samrakshna Vedike, a committee formed by the residents of Jeppu to fight for the restoration of the lake, have been urging the Government for the past over six years to restore the tank.
According to P. Nemu Kottari, secretary of the vedike, the depth of the lake is about 20 feet.
The last time the Department of Minor Irrigation removed silt from the tank was in 2002. However, restoration activities such as building a compound wall around the lake, construction of steps on the inner sides of the lake, and beautification works were not taken up then.
It was May when the silt had been removed from the lake. Immediately, there was a heavy rain which again resulted in accumulation of silt, as stormwater directly flowed into it. Since then, the tank is in a pitiable condition, without any maintenance. It looked more like a field than a water body, he said.
Commissioner of the corporation Sameer Shukla said that the immediate priority was to build a compound wall to prevent people from dumping debris into the lake and protect it from any form of encroachment. Removal of silt and related work would be taken up later, he said.
The first phase of restoration work would be taken up from the Rs. 100-crore special grant allocated to the corporation in 2008-09 State budget. As per the notification, the last date to submit bids for the restoration of the lake is March 16.
Kottari said that after removing the silt, the corporation might increase the depth of the lake by 10 more feet to make it 20 ft deep. If maintained properly, the corporation could use its water to meet the drinking water needs of the city. It would also reduce the dependence of the corporation on the Netravati for the purpose to some extent, he said.
As houses in Jeppu area have underground drainage system, there was no threat of sewage percolating from sceptic tanks into the lake, he said.
According to him, the wells in nearly 800 houses around the lake have never gone dry because the tank water recharges the groundwater table.
The tank does not dry even in peak summer.
He said that a local man was engaged in commercial supply of drinking water from a nearby well.
Shukla said that the corporation was also contemplating on reviving Kavoor lake. It was yet to prepare a plan to this effect, he added.