CMC chief releases fish, tortoise into Santehonda lake

To drive the point home to stop polluting water bodies and to stop offering bagina and other traditional puja to water bodies, City Municipal Council president Manjunath Goppe, former CMC president Kantharaj and others released fish, tortoise and other water animals in the historic Santhehonda lake at Stone Fort in Chitradurga on Friday, instead of offering bagina.

The CMC president and the former CMC president said, usually elected representatives offer such bagina whenever the lakes or tanks are brimming after good rains. They said that they wanted to break this tradition and instead release fish, tortoise and other aquatic animals into water bodies as it purifies water bodies and protects and maintains the ecological balance.

CMC president Manjunath Goppe said that water bodies get polluted when people pour kumkum, turmeric and other puja materials into it. B Kantharaj said that CMC and people-friendly organisations have decided to release big tortoises and fish into historic Santhehonda lake in the coming months. He said, the water level in the lake has increased this year after a decade.