Hidden features of Nagarakunte heritage tank unearthed

The residents of the City woke to a dirty, garbage filled Nagarakunte tank on Wednesday morning but by evening got a look of features of the tank that were long forgotten.

 The tank of the Venkataramanaswamy temple at Katharipalya had become a dumpyard a long time ago. It was cleaned as part of the kalyani rejuvenation campaign undertaken by the district administration.  The steps leading down to the tank were all cleared of weeds. The silt that had choked the temple tank was filled into a tractor and taken away.

The gopura, which was partly hidden under all the weeds, was fully visible by evening. District In-charge Minister R Varthur Prakash too visited the tank area and joined the in the work for some time. He promised that the tank would be beautified. “Construction of houses around the temple tank will be prevented,” he promised, “Increase in the underground water level can be ensured by cleaning and rejuvenating tanks.” 

Heart attack 

Devaraj, a driver at the Accounts Department suffered a heart attack and collapsed while working to clean the Nagarakunte tank.  He was rushed to and admitted into Jalappa Hospital immediately. The Deputy Commissioner called Dr Lakshmaiah, the medical director of the Hospital, over telephone and instructed that the driver be treated appropriately. The Deputy Commissioner D S Vishwanath, Zilla Panchayat member Rajendra Cholan and City Municipal Council president Nazia leading a group of officers and manual scavengers. Students from several colleges especially attracted attention of the others as they enthusiastically volunteered in the cleaning.