Youth in Kundapur give a fresh lease of life to lake

Many lakes that are invaluable to recharge the water table have been dying a slow death due to government apathy and neglect by local residents.

One such lake is by the JLB Road, which connects Vittalwadi in the Town Municipal Council. The lake has been neglected for a very long time and had almost become a landfill area.

The senior citizens residing by JLB Road recollected that the lake, known as ‘Chatta Kere’, had been the only source of water for hundreds of acres of paddy crop.

With most of the paddy fields being converted into plots for residential and commercial buildings, the lake was neglected by locals. Due to silt accumulation and garbage dumped in the lake, the water body fell out of use and was, subsequently, abandoned.

Activists residing in the area wrote to the government, asking to restore the lake. The government, however, paid no heed to the appeals. It seemed that the lake would be converted into a landfill area.

The local youngsters, however, took it upon themselves to revive the dying lake. They braved the scorching heat and worked to clean the lake within three days. After the silt and debris were removed, clean water accumulated in the lake.

“When the government made no attempts to restore the lake, we decided to clean the lake ourselves,” said Bharat Mogaveera, president of Vittalwadi Friends’ Club. The decision to clean the lake drew an overwhelming response from the members.

Girish J K, a member of Kundapur TMC, who participated in the shramadaan said that they appealed to the public and building owners not to dump debris in the lake.

“In the coming days, we will make the lake aesthetically beautiful,” Girish promised.