Upset with the poor maintenance of the historic Kelageri Lake, residents have appealed to the Deputy Commissioner to take back maintenance of the lake from the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS), Dharwad, and hand it over to a competent authority.
The residents made this plea before Deputy Commissioner Divya Prabhu G.R.J. during her visit to the lake on Monday.
The residents told the Deputy Commissioner that the lake built by Sir M. Visvesvaraya has been badly maintained resulting in not only water getting polluted but also the surrounding area.
They said that the university authorities have shown least concern towards properly maintaining the lake.
They pointed out that because of bad maintenance, the lake is filled with silt while sewage water continues to enter the lake.
Consequently, water weeds have engulfed the lake and foul smell is emanating causing hardships to residents living around and also, the general public, they said.
After going around the lake, the Deputy Commissioner assured them that she will hold a joint meeting with officials and take suitable action to address the issue.
She said that both Hubballi Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) and Hubballi Dharwad Urban Development Authority (HDUDA) have earmarked ₹5 crore each for development of the lake.
In addition, it is being planned to submit a proposal to the State government for comprehensive development of lake park at a cost of ₹35 crore. A joint meeting with HDMC, HDUDA, KUWSDB and UAS, Dharwad, will be held to take a final decision on the issue, she said.
HDUDA Commissioner Santosh Biradar, HDMC Executive Engineer Anand Jalaki, HDUDA Executive Engineer Rajashekhar, Head of Nature Research Centre P.V. Hiremath and several morning walkers were present.
Bird census
Subsequently, the Deputy Commissioner took part in a bird census being carried out by Nature Research Centre and Nature First Eco Village. She also documented some of the birds sighted by her.
