Structure at Bengaluru lake is a 1000 AD sluice gate: Expert
BENGALURU: Nearly a month after a stone structure was found in Hosakerehalli Lake in Bengaluru, experts have come to the conclusion that it is a sluice gate dating back to 1000 AD.
Dr R Gopal, Director of Archaeology, Museums and Heritage Department, told Express that the structure looked like a mantapam but was actually a sluice gate belonging to the Chola dynasty with a height of 15 feet and width of 8 feet. The sluice gate was used to release water for agriculture, he added.
Hosakerehalli lake in Bengaluru on
January 23 by workers who were
desilting the lake
Workers removing silt and weed from the lake were surprised when they found the stone structure on January 23. Work was under way as part of a lake rejuvenation project. The stone structure has four pillars and a roof. Workers dug around 10 feet deep to unearth the entire structure. Residents soon gathered at the lake to catch a glimpse of the structure.
A few had said that the structure may be at least 400 years old and may have been built to measure the water levels in the lake.
Unfortunately, during the desilting process, one historical structure at the site was dismantled by an earthmover. Dr Gopal said that he has asked BDA’s engineering wing to prepare an estimate to restore this structure.
An official said that the lake was built to provide drinking water as well as for agriculture. It was even a popular fishing spot at one point of time. But thanks to rapid urbanisation, people started dumping garbage in the lake and it gradually became polluted to the extent that the structure became invisible.
The structure came up when the Bangalore Development Authority was desilting the lake, Dr Gopal added.
A BDA official told Express that the total extent of the lake was 59.26 acres and around six acres of it was encroached on. So far, about 70 per cent of the silt has been removed, the official said.