Environmentalists in the city have scored a major victory with the expert committee on Kukkarahalli Lake recommending against the dredging of the waterbody.
It has also called for a new Detailed Project Report (DPR) only to divert the existing inlets to fill the lake with clean water and hence stated that dredging work should not happen now. The committee said that once water with less turbidity and enough dissolved oxygen is filled, it will help break down the toxic silt deposited on the lake bed and no removal of silt would be necessary.
This was one of the major demands of the environmentalists who had argued against the dredging of the lake in the peak summer on the grounds that the lake would be bereft of water and continuing the civil works would amount to the death of its ecosystem.
The University of Mysore (UoM), which is the custodian of the lake, had set in motion civil works for ₹3 crore that included dredging of the lake body. However, D. Randeep, Deputy Commissioner, temporarily stopped the work following opposition by citizens and asked the Lake Development Authority to appoint a technical committee to research the issue. The Authority appointed Rama Prasad, a retired professor from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru and C.N. Babu.
The experts noted that the 2012 DPR for the lake did not include any measure to improve the quality of the lake but contained estimates for fencing, providing a walking path, improvement of the feeder channel, the creation of botanical gardens, etc. Though five years had passed, sewage and effluent continue to flow into the lake. Instead of establishing a treatment plant, the authorities took up dredging works at a cost of ₹65 lakh without clearance from the Lake Development Authority.
The two-member committee report said the “top priority of the authorities should be to ensure that the lake is filled with clean water”. It noted that out of the seven inlets to the lake, only one was major one but it brought in sewage discharge.
Hebbal Lake
The report also called upon the authorities to formalise an arrangement with Infosys, which has agreed to fund the treatment of Hebbal Lake, and ensure that about 5 MLD of treated water is diverted to Kukkarahalli Lake. As the lake supports more than 170 species of birds and butterflies and is a biodiversity hotspot, the report has noted that diverting the existing water at Kukkarahalli will impact them. Hence, the authorities should finalise a schedule on draining and filling up the lake in consultation with environmentalists and ornithologists. Given its iconic status among the locals, any intervention should be in harmony with its status, said the report.
