Encroached tank leaves residents parched

Groundwater: Level depletes as Kandavara tank dries up

Kandavara Kere, the tank which was a major source of drinking water for residents in and outside Chikkaballapur city, has dried up.

The residents used to celebrate when the tank overflowed, 15 years ago and they worshipped the tank for providing them precious liquid throughout the year. Now, the dried up tank calls for mourning.

Plans dashed

It has also shattered the hopes of the city municipality, which as recently as six months ago had planned to arrange boating at the tank and a park around it. It was source of drinking water for birds, animals and livestock too. The tank, spread across around 300 acres, has dried up and the animals too are parched.

It was the only major source of water for residents of both Chikkaballapur town and the nearby villages. The residents fear that the borewells, which are used to be recharged by the tank water, would also go dry soon as the groundwater level would deplete drastically.

Fear of encroachers

They also fear the landsharks would encroach upon the dried up tank.

“We were proud of the biggest tank in our area. It hurts to see it dry up,” says Chandrappa, a resident of Kandavara. He said the tank had met with such a tragedy due to encroachment of its beds and its tributaries.

Apart from the scanty rainfall, encroachment upon the land and construction of check dams along the course of streams that recharged the tanks have contributed to its death, he said.

Water from Nandi Hills, Kalavara Hills and tanks near Rangasthala used to fill the Kandavara tank, said Ramegowda, another resident.

Kandavara tank bed has also been encroached, and if the encroachment continues unabated the tank will be a thing of past and the residents would be deprived of drinking water.