STREAM VANISHES: Poornaiah Canal, which is a source of inflow into the Kukkarahalli lake in Mysore, has been fenced off. — Photo: M.A. .SRIRAM

MYSORE: Even as the monsoon is round the corner, encroachments on the channels that lead to the scenic Kukkarahalli Lake have raised doubts about rainwater flowing into the lake. Poornaiah canal, which is a key source of inflow into the lake, faces threat from encroachment.

The last mile of the Poornaiah canal towards the lake near Bisilu Maramma Temple in Gangotri Layout was fenced recently by a non-governmental organisation (NGO) working towards the education of speech and hearing impaired girls.

This stretch of the canal has been fenced and it is learnt that area has been handed over to an NGO after considering it as a civic amenities (CA) site.

Parts of the canal have been allotted to another service organisation under the CA site category.

In 1994, when the State Government took up construction of 11 housing quarters for senior government officials on the same strip, environmentalists had opposed the move citing danger posed to the lake. Sensing the gravity of the situation, the then Deputy Commissioner, Vijayabhaskar, had directed the officials to stop the work and that the foundation for these constructions is intact even today.

S.P. Thirumala Rao, president of Karnataka Consumers' Forum, said after the direction from Mr. Vijayabhaskar, work near the channel has been stopped.

But with the NGO fencing the area till the culvert on the Bogadhi Main Road, the limited source of water to the Kukkarahalli Lake will be lost.

Heavy investment

Dr. Thirumala Rao said: "The Government has been investing a huge sum on the development of the lake without assessing the water flow. Construction of a few drains or rainwater harvesting will not help the lake to regain the glory unless the original source of water through the channels was established. Without a clear idea for the development, Kukkarahalli Lake will dry up just like Jeevanrayana Katte and Doddakere, which are being used for other purposes."

The problem of encroachment of catchment area and the feeder channels running to the lake is compounded by the fact that most of the catchment lies in the residential areas of Kuvempunagar, Saraswathipuram, Gangotri Layout and Jayalakshmipuram. The biggest remaining source of fresh water for the ailing lake is the sprawling Manasagangotri campus of the University of Mysore.

Because of similar problems, some of the lakes in the city, including Jeevanrayana Katte and Doddakere dried up, and they are used as a playground or a place for exhibition.

The crisis to the Kukkarahalli Lake is not caused only because of the encroachment of residential complex or by the private agencies.

Wall built

The All India Institute of Speech and Hearing has constructed a huge wall right across the Poornaiah Canal on the other side of the Bogadhi Main Road while the Mysore City Corporation has earmarked and maintained another feeder channel as a burial ground.

Feeder channels

Buildings of Government Secondary and Higher Primary schools built under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan have come up on the feeder channels, and in another case a park is developed on a channel near Manasa Nagar.

To prevent water from gushing into their respective buildings, check walls have been built, and a majority of the feeder channels is used to dump debris, thus reducing the water flow into the lake.

Habitat for birds

The 200-year-old lake that once was a source of drinking water for the city now acts as a habitat for a large stock of birds besides acting as a huge lung space for the city.

But the increasing encroachments of the catchment area as well as the feeder channels pose danger to this lake, and the fate of other lakes may befall Kukkarahalli Lake.

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