SHIVAMOGGA: When four years ago the government undertook the development of a lake in Muttala village in Hosanagara taluk, the villagers were happy. But soon the contractor ‘finished’ the work. And they realised nothing much was done. Today, the villagers have revived Makod Lake, one of the oldest water bodies, without any financial assistance from the government. With the advice and expertise of a non-governmental organisation, the villagers rejuvenated the lake and are reviving two more tanks in the same village.
Krishnappa, the head of the village lake committee who is also inspecting the work of another tank which is being developed at an estimated cost of Rs 3.80 lakh, says, “The government took up the development of the lake four years back. The contractors removed some silt and later took a photograph after ‘finishing’ the work. However, water was not storing enough to cater to our needs. When SARA Centre, the NGO, approached us, we believed in their motive and together we are rejuvenating our tanks,” he says.
Sustainable Alternatives for Rural Accord or SARA Centre is a community-driven and artist-run initiative founded by artist Arun Kumar. Tank rejuvenating action is part of the Swagrama Project initiated by SARA Centre and its associate organisations and supported by villagers and many individuals. The NGO has been working to raise public awareness about sustainable life practices to address the ecological concerns of the Malnad region.
The centre responds to local agricultural and ecological concerns and aims to create an active forum for knowledge exchange about broader environmental issues. Manjunath Byanada, one of the directors of SARA Centre, says that the NGO decided to develop the tanks in the region to ensure water sustainability for drinking water and agriculture needs. “As a first step towards this, we decided to develop 10 tanks in four villages.
If we approached the villagers and said we wanted to rejuvenate the lakes, they would have suspected our motive. So, we involved the villagers in reviving the tanks of their own village. We formed a committee headed by one of the villagers to take care of all aspects. However, one of us from the NGO guided them besides taking care of financial needs to complete the project,” he says.
Yesu Prakash, actor, involved himself in overseeing the works and making financial arrangements at Muttala village. “We have successfully developed Makod Lake at a cost of Rs 2.40 lakh which is way less than the government estimate. A government engineer estimated the cost of Rs 25 lakh to revive the lake,” Prakash says.
While Makod Lake is expected to irrigate 22 acres of land, Varthe Lake is expected to irrigate 60 acres. The villagers have also taken up the development of a pond which can irrigate more land. Inspired by this success, the villagers of Keshavapura approached SARA and expressed their desire to revive one of the oldest lakes in the village. SARA is planning to revive the lake in such a way that it caters to agriculture water needs besides making it a tourist attraction by providing facilities for swimming, boating and laying water tanks.
The funds generated will be used for maintenance of the lake in the days to come. Meanwhile, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister KS Eshwarappa visited the lakes and lauded the efforts of the villagers. “Muttala villagers have shown that any project will be successful if there is active involvement of the people,” he says.
COP HELPS fund REVIVAL
G S Hebbal, CPI of Hosanagar, has been extending his helping hand in rejuvenating the lake at Keshavapura. Besides helping financially, he is requesting lorry and tipper owners to put their vehicles into service. “Several villages in our limits faced water shortage last year. We decided to revive the lake for wild animals, cattle and also provide water to agricultural land. Overall, it was a collective effort that is yielding good results,” Hebbal adds.