The work on revival of Gujjarakere is in progress under Smart City Mission project. The Gujjarakere, a prominent water body in Jeppu, is spread over three acres of land.
The water body has a history of over 1,800 years and remained ignored for many decades.
The Gujjarakere Theertha Samrakshana Samithi’s campaign on saving and rejuvenating the water body almost completes a decade.
Nemu Kottari of the Samithi said, “The work on desilting the lake begun in the first week of April. We want the water body to remain unpolluted and thereby help in improving the groundwater in the vicinity.
A fresh lease of life to the lake will certainly improve ecology in the vicinity, he added.
Gujjarakere was once the only source of drinking water in the past and associated with the religious ceremonies of the nearby Mangaladevi Temple and Sri Mahisha Mardini Mariyamma Temple. Over the years, many houses that sprung up and polluted the lake by draining the sewage into it.
Before removing the silt, the polluted water was drained to some extent. The rejuvenation proposal covered dredging of the lake to a depth about two metres. As part of the revival, a walking track around the lake, children’s play area, a public toilet and an open gym are planned.
There will be railings around the lake and the surroundings will be beautified with landscape works, according to the proposal.
Tortoises saved
During the previous initiatives launched to clean Gujjarekere, labourers had killed many tortoises that had made the lake their home.
Thus, when work begun in early April, Tauseef Ahmed, an animal rescuer, took upon the responsibility of creating awareness on the need to protect the tortoises which in turn help in keeping these surface water bodies clean.
Owing to the awareness, labourers did not kill the tortoises this time.