The Gujjarakere, a prominent water body at Jeppu in the city spread over about three acres, is set to get a fresh lease of life again under the Smart City mission after a decade-old issue of underground sewage seepage into it was addressed sometime ago.
Mangaluru Smart City Ltd. (MSCL) has invited bids to rejuvenate the lake and create recreation facilities on its banks at an estimated cost of ₹ 4 crore.
Managing Director, MSCL, Mohammed Nazir told The Hindu that the company has moved to rejuvenate the lake only after ensuring that there is no seepage of sewage into it from the underground sewage network surrounding the lake.
Mangaluru City Corporation replaced the old problematic sewage network and commissioned the new network sometime ago.
Mr. Nazir told The Hindu that the rejuvenation proposal covered dredging the lake to about two metres deep. The other facilities to be created would include building a walking track around the lake, constructing a children’s play area and a public toilet and an open gym. There would be railings around the lake and the surroundings would be beautified with landscape works. The open gym would be like the one created at Kadri Park.
The rejuvenation project also included construction of a “kund” in the lake.
The total project cost estimated comprised GST, escalation and tender premium, contingency cost, plumbing and electrical works.
The Gujjarakere Theertha Samrakshana Samithi has been fighting to save and rejuvenate the last largest water body within the city limits since past a decade.
According to Nemu Kottari, secretary of the samithi, the government has spent over ₹ 5 crore for the lake development since 2008-09. Works already done covered dredging, building an embankment and retaining walls and laying a new sewer network in the area to prevent flow of sewage into the lake.
The growth of hyacinth due to water contamination from the flow of sewer from the old network was the main concern.
