Let loose to graze around a smelly lake

The frothing Maragondanahalli lake is a grazing ground for nearly 200 cows and hundreds of goats

June 13, 2017 08:55 am | Updated 08:55 am IST - Bengaluru

Sorry state:  The Maragondanahalli lake, spread over 150 acres in east Bengaluru, is severely polluted. Farmers, however, have no choice but to use this water to irrigate their fields and let their animals graze around the lake.

Sorry state: The Maragondanahalli lake, spread over 150 acres in east Bengaluru, is severely polluted. Farmers, however, have no choice but to use this water to irrigate their fields and let their animals graze around the lake.

Four months ago, Muniraju, a farmer living beside the banks of the severely polluted Maragondanahalli lake, decided to supplement his income by buying more cows.

He purchased a cow for ₹70,000 from Kolar. But on arriving by the lake, the cow refused to eat the grass or drink the water. Last month, fearing it would die of starvation, he sold it for ₹10,000. “The grass here has a peculiar smell,” says Muniraju.

Maragondanahalli lake, spread over 150 acres in east Bengaluru, froths copiously in its main channel. Villagers say over 80 acres of paddy fields have been abandoned over the years, and the wild grass here is the only fodder for villages nearby. “There are at least 200 cows and hundreds of goats grazing here during dry seasons, some even brought from 10 km away,” says Sampegamma. Two decades ago, her cows yielded on an average 10 litres of milk each day. Now, she gets around seven litres. “The water makes them sick,” she says.

B.D. Nagappa, vice-president, Bangalore Urban, Rural & Ramanagaram District Co-Operative Milk Producers’ Societies Union Ltd., said fodder has been a problem for areas such as Mandur and Jyothipura and lakes such as these provide an opportunity for free fodder.

He, however, said that the standard of milk is highly regulated in BAMUL, and there was little chance that contaminants end up in the milk sold in the city.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.