DPR on conservation of Devanur lake ready, but authorities sitting on it

Long wait ahead: Even though months have passed since the DPR was prepared to conserve it, work is yet to be taken up to revive the Devanur lake in Mysuru.

Months after a detailed project report (DPR) was prepared and submitted to the authorities, work on conservation of Devanur lake is yet to begin, much to the consternation of the residents of the locality.

The residents of the surrounding N.R. Mohalla and Udayagiri are not only forced to watch the waterbody die a slow death, but also put up with the mosquito menace that threatens them with various vector-borne diseases like dengue, chikungunya and malaria.

After much pressure was brought to bear on the authorities by the residents, who held several rounds of protests under the ‘Save Devanur Lake’ banner, the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) under whose purview the lake falls, entrusted the work on preparing a DPR to Jalavahini Management Services Pvt. Ltd., a consultancy firm with expertise in lake management.

“We submitted the DPR almost six months ago,” said P.M. Kulkarni from the Jalavahini Management Services.

Awaiting govt. approval

MUDA officials, who confirmed that the DPR has been prepared, said they were awaiting approval from the government to take up the works. “The DPR has estimated the conservation work to cost ₹8 crore and we are looking forward to Department of Minor Irrigation to allocate funds and take up the work. The works were not sanctioned last year, but we are looking forward to them taking up the work this year,” a MUDA official said.

A representative from the private consultancy that took up the work on preparing the DPR said they are yet to receive payment for the same. “We had taken up the work on preparing the DPR at a cost of ₹4.8 lakh, which was negotiated to ₹4.5 lakh. We are yet to receive the payment towards it,” the representative added.

Recommended works

Among other things, the DPR has recommended bioremediation of the lake, which involves release of enzymes to breakdown the pollutants in the lake, aeration, removal of silt, besides setting up of sewage treatment plants, earmarking the lake’s boundary and fencing it to prevent encroachment, besides construct a walking path on the lake’s boundaries and illuminate it.

Meanwhile, some residents are pressurising the MLA representing the area Tanveer Sait to initiate work on revival of the lake soon. A twitter user - @Mysuru_Infra - has pointed out to Mr. Sait that Narasimharaja Assembly constituency, which he represents, has no lake for its people. “Dear @TanveerSaitINC sir, NR constituency has no lake for its people. Request you to urgently take up #Devanur Lake revival. MUDA has been preparing DPR for the past 5 years. Hopefully works are initiated soon,” he tweeted on June 12. Mr Sait, however, is yet to respond.