The Dasara Sports and Adventure Sports sub-committee has backed off from conducting aqua sports at Varuna Lake this year, as the tender of the lake has been given to a private party, who got a stay form the District Court.
The authorities who were insistent on conducting the water sports at Varuna Lake besides extending the same to Blue Lagoon, the KRS Backwaters at Undawadi, Mysore district, from this year, decided not to intrude into the lake, where conduct of advenuture activities has been tendered to a private person Varuna Mahesh.
Mahesh had bagged the project in 2012, for a three year term. He has been conducting the water based sports activities at the Lake round the year. “There is no provision for anybody else, including the government to conduct activities here,” he said.
Apart from getting a stay from the court, he also brought the matter to the notice of Superintendent of Police and Deputy Special officer for Sports and Adventure Sports Sub-Committee Abhinav Khare. The latter clarified to Deccan Herald that aqua sports will not be conducted at Varuna Lake, as it was not permitted according to the tender agreement.
Cauvery Niravari Nigam officials said that the district administration had not informed or consulted them about conducting activities at the Lake, and that only the private party who holds the agreement could conduct activities at the said location.
Director of the department of Youth Empowerment and Sports, Vikash Kumar Vikash dismissed allegations of political influence to shift the venue of water adventure sports from Varuna lake to KRS backwaters.
Responding to questions during a press conference, he said that shifting the location was not the sub-committee’s decision alone. Even organisers preferred KRS backwaters, he said.
He said that Varuna lake did not have the dimensions to organise motorised sports, as the depth of Varuna was less. “Assessing the risks, we decided to shift the venue of water sports,” he said.