Campaign to restore Ramling Talab

Concrete efforts to remove encroachments from it have been lacking

Bijapur Zilla Vikasa Vedike has planned to intensify its agitation seeking restoration ofthe ancient Ramling Talab in Vijayapura.— PHOTO: RAJENDRA SINGH HAJERI

On account of World Water Day, which fell on Tuesday, Bijapur Zilla Vikasa Vedike, an NGO working on the restoration of ancient water bodies in the district, has decided to launch a campaign to revive and restore Ramling Talab, an ancient storage tank built during the Adil Shahi era.

Peter Alexander, NGO president, told The Hindu that despite many agitations and submission of a number of memorandums to the government, there have been no concrete efforts to revive the tank which has been encroached upon.

“There is a great history to this tank, which used to supply water to other smaller tanks during the time of the Adil Shahi dynasty. The tank had a 40-sq km catchment area which helped smaller water bodies to retain water,” he said.

Mr. Alexander bemoaned the fact that over the years, due to sheer negligence, the tank has tuned into ruins and its huge tracts of land, which used to store so much water, have been encroached upon for tilling.

He said that though the main structure of the wall and the sluice gates have been restored with the help of the Archaeological Survey of India, the talab has not been restored fully.

“It was in 2009 when the tank was filled to the brim owing to incessant rain. There was so much waste that excess water went to Bhutanal tank, another ancient tank. If the government wants to, it can easily evacuate people who are using the tank-bed for tilling and restore the tank,” he said.

Mr. Alexander said that the NGO would first approach the district administration to restore the tank, and if it does not get a positive response, it will file a public interest petition.