Gowri lake, which is in the heart of Ponnampet, was one of the major sources of drinking water in the past. However, today, the lake is filled with silt.
The lake is situated only 500 meters from the Ponnampet bus stand.
The Gowri-Ganapathy idols worshipped during Ganeshotsava at Basaveshwara Temple are being immersed in Gowri lake for the past several years. Therefore, the lake got the name ‘Gowri’, said a senior citizen of the town, S L Shivanna.
He said that the people also used to wash their clothes in the lake, around 15 years ago and many others carried water from the lake for drinking.
“After every household received the water pipeline connection, the number of people who used the lake water dwindled. Eventually, this led to a lack of care towards the lake. The lake is cleaned only during Ganesha Chaturthi,” he said and urged the Gram Panchayat to take the initiative to clean the lake regularly.
Like Shivanna, many other elders in the region recall that the Gowri lake was initially a small pond. It was widened later and now it spreads over an area of one acre. The field in the low lying area of the lake belongs to the temple.
Every year, people take the paddy sheaths from the same field, during Huttari and offer them to the temple.
A protective wall has been built around the lake and a canal has been built to facilitate the flow of extra water.
The water in the lake rarely dries up. The lake has been helping to maintain the groundwater level in the nearby borewells and open wells.
However, due to lack of maintenance, shrubs have grown around the lake and the lake is filled with silt.
‘Preserve lakes’
Puttaname Prasad, a resident of Ponnampet, said that there were several lakes in and around Ponnampet and now, many of them have vanished due to lack of maintenance.
Now, there are only Gowri lake, Rachayyana lake, Matturu lake, Shambayyana lake and Gundiyat Ayyappa lake remaining. But, all are filled with silt and surrounded by shrubs, he added.
Autorickshaw driver T R Vinod said that the preservation of streams, ponds and lakes is the need of the hour.
If the lakes are converted into sites after dumping soil, we may have to struggle for drinking water in future, he said.
Ponnampet panchayat development officer Puttaraju said that the water from Shambayyana lake and Gowri lake is being used for drinking.
Under MGNREGS, the silt from the lakes is removed once in three years. Lakes under Ponnampet Gram Panchayat have not been encroached upon, he added.