KARWAR: Where there is a will, there is a way. A group of students from Sirsi have proved this adage by giving a new lease of life to an almost dead lake. The lake, attached to Perlakumbri government primary school in Hulgol village near Sirsi, was dry and filled with silt for over the past one decade. Drought-like situation had, meanwhile, triggered water scarcity in the region. Both humans and animals suffered for want of lakes, but villagers could do little. In such circumstances, the act of this group of youngsters studying at Government First Grade Degree College of Sirsi provided locals a ray of hope.
“In March 2017, 140 students joined hands to desilt about 3-ft deep and 50x50-ft wide lake in Hulgol. During the monsoon, water got stored in the lake and villagers started drawing water from it for their livestock,” recalls professor R Y Khan.
However, the joy of students was short-lived as the lake went dry post-monsoon. But the students were determined to not let all their efforts go in vain.
“In February this year, they again came together to accomplish their mission. Some more students joined them and they camped for five days to desilt the lake further up to 12 ft. Now, the lake is brimming with water,” adds Khan. The group has named itself ‘Youth Red Cross’ and the lake as ‘Red Cross Lake’.
“Water from the Red Cross Lake overflows to a nearby lake from where anyone can take water. Miraculously, all the wells in the vicinity too have plenty of water now,” says Youth Red Cross member M Almas Abdul Gani.
The students’ initiative has received overwhelming support from an NGO, the gram panchayat and villagers.
Since schoolchildren play in the vicinity, Bhairumbe gram panchayat got the lake fenced to avoid any untoward incident. NGO ‘Manovikas’ helped them with equipment. “When the Sirsi college faculty members and students asked us for help, we provided them a couple of earthmovers to desilt the lake. It was heartening to watch the youngsters springing into action out of concern towards villagers and animals,” says director G anapati Bhat.
G Hegde, a zilla panchayat member, just can’t thank these students enough. “Because of them, we are now getting adequate water to feed our cattle. Many birds and animals stop over at the lake to quench their thirst. Earlier, we were dependent only on pipeline water or open wells. But these students have showed us the way.”
The zilla panchayat recently took up desilting works at Emmikeri Lake which is located next to Red Cross Lake and had dried up this summer.
Cleanliness Mission
Apart from reviving the lake, the group of youngsters is also on a cleanliness mission. Immediately after desilting the lake, the students had joined hands to give facelift to the nearby school. It had taken two days for them to beautify the campus. Youth Red Cross members also spread awareness among villagers on the importance of hygiene and cleanliness. “Happiness of locals and words of appreciation from them keep us going. We will engage ourselves in more such meaningful activities which will make a difference in the lives of villagers,” says BCom student Sudha Naik.