Sri Sri Ravi Shankar opposes govt's move to amend Land Revenue Act

Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar opposed the proposed move by the state government to amend the Karnataka Land Revenue Act 1964 to denotify dried lakes and water bodies. The government should conserve the lakes, he said.

He was speaking to reporters after visiting Sindigere in Lakhya hobli of Chikkamagaluru on Wednesday. “If we fail to conserve lakes, we will face acute shortage of water, which in turn will affect the lives of cattle. We should ensure that the lakes do not go dry. All efforts should be made to rejuvenate the lakes.”

The Art of Living has taken up an initiative to rejuvenate lakes and rivers for the last four years, he said. The work on rejuvenation of 30 rivers have been taken up in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. Percolation pits and check dams are constructed on the river basin and lakes. An effort is being made to recharge the ground water, which in turn will benefit the public, Ravi Shankar said.

The work on rejuvenating 480 lakes on the basin of River Vedavathi in Chikkamagaluru has been initiated. The rejuvenation work on Kumudavathi and Palar rivers has also been taken up in Karnataka, he said.

He further called upon the people to join hands in water conservation works. The percolation pits and check dams will help in storing water, which in turn help in recharging the groundwater table.

Stating that there is a positive result for the work on rejuvenation of river, he said the work has helped in increasing the groundwater table. Eucalyptus and Acacia trees absorb water. Hence, such trees should not be planted. Instead, neem and banyan trees should be planted, he suggested.

Ravi Shankar appealed to the public not to dump garbage into lakes.

Explaining the benefits of percolation pits, Lakumanahalli gram panchayat vice president Thamme Gowda said percolation pits were dug on his land one-and-a-half years ago. Now, the groundwater level has increased and the dried borewell has been recharged.

Panchayat Development Officer Lokesh said, “In association with Art of Living, barrages, percolation pits have been laid at 72 locations under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.”

ZP president B S Chaitrasri, TP President E R Mahesh and others were present.