Minister for Large and Medium Industries and district in charge Jagadish Shettar has said that Unakal Lake in Hubblali will be developed into a tourist spot under the ‘Smart City’ scheme.
On Saturday, Mr. Shettar initiated the work on cleaning up the lake by removing water hyacinth, which has been jointly taken up by the Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation, the Unakal Abhivruddhi Sangha, the Deshpande Foundation, and Tata Hitachi.
Speaking after initiating the work, Mr. Shettar said that a lake development committee had been set up under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioner of Dharwad and the committee will meet on November 18 [Monday] to chalk out a permanent solution for the weed problem and the comprehensive development of the Unakal Lake Park.
The public could also give their suggestions towards development of the lake park, he said.
The Minister said that the water hyacinth was a recurring problem and the main reason for it was the sewage water entering the lake.
“Already steps have been taken to construct a sewage treatment plant near the lake and it is likely to become functional by the end of December,” he said.
Steps will also be taken to guard the statue of Swami Vivekananda that had been erected in the middle of the lake, and later a proper set-up for a boating facility will be created, he said.
The Minister, who personally viewed the voluntary work taken up by the youths of the Sangha, praised the volunteers.
The members of the Sangha had begun the work on removing the water hyacinth manually a week ago, and have already cleared a portion of the lake.
Mr. Shettar also heard the grievances of the residents of the localities on the downstream of the lake. He promsied them immediate steps to rebuild the small bridges that had been washed away during the recent overflowing of the lake during heavy rains.
He told them that the bridges will be rebuilt within two months and tenders had already been floated.
Deputy Commissioner of Dharwad Deepa Cholan, Municipal Commissioner Suresh Itnal, CEO of Deshpande Foundation Vivek Pawar, Prasanna Dixit and Ajit Kulkarni of Tata Hitachi, and several members of Unakal Abhivruddhi Sangha were present.
