Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) Commissioner D.B. Natesh on Wednesday said notices had been issued to encroachers of Devanur Lake and action will be taken to evict them in the next 10 to 15 days.
Participating in an interaction programme with residents and people’s representatives of the areas around Devanur Lake organised by Andolana, a Kannada daily, he said about 20 guntas of the lake area spread across 12.37 acres had been encroached.
A joint inspection was conducted by officials of Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) and MUDA, which revealed that about 14 to 15 houses had been constructed on the 20 guntas. “Notices have already been issued and action will be taken along with MCC to remove the encroachments in the next 10 to 15 days”, he said.
He said robotic excavators will have to be deployed to clean the weeds before taking up desiltation. As conventional excavators are reported to have got stuck in the lake while cleaning weeds, Mr Natesh said he had already contacted the contractors of robotic excavators, who will arrive in Mysuru in about a week’s time to make an assessment.
After removal of weeds, action will be taken to desilt the lake and allow sunlight and aeration as part of the efforts to rejuvenate the waterbody.
With regards to build a boundary wall around the lake, Mr. Natesh favoured a live fence to enable a “healthy wet eco-system” to help revive the lake. However, he said the MUDA will obtain an expert opinion in the regard before taking action. The live fencing should serve the purpose of preventing dumping of waste into the lake
With regards to complaints of untreated sewage water entering the lake, Mr. Natesh said he will discuss with the MCC officials the possibility of preventing UGD water from entering the lake through the stormwater drains.
Mr Natesh also referred to the availability of a lot of good technologies including bio-salt and enzyme techology to clean the water in the lake.
Former Mayor Ayub Khan said the lake is not receiving any fresh water. Though three stormwater drains from different parts of the city – Ghousia Nagar, Gayathripuram and Gandhinagar – end up in the lake, they bring only UGD water or drain water.
He urged the MUDA Commissioner to set aside a substantial amount for the rejuvenation of the lake in the next Budget.
Mr. Azhar of the Save Devanur Lake Committee alleged that officials of MUDA and other civic agencies, who pass by the lake, turn a blind eye to the wanton destruction of the water body in the form of dumping of waste. Though several complaints with photographic evidence of dumping of waste including medical waste into the water body had been submitted, no action has been taken, he lamented.
Naturalist and former Director of Centre for Appropriate Rural Technologies U.N. Ravi Kumar, who also participated in the programme, urged the authorities to first block untreated sewage water from entering the lake and make way for easy flow of rainwater to the water body.
