How to control a lake breach? Perform Puja!

Sankey Tank likely to breach

The Hindu

Fears over water entering surrounding areas

# Overflowing water from the tank has submerged the pathway
# Waste weirs of the tank blocked
# Mayor to perform `Ganga Puja' today

BANGALORE: Residents of Kodandarampura and Swimming Pool Extension in Malleswaram, Vyalikaval and areas surrounding the Sankey Tank are worried as the tank, which is full following rain in the city, might breach any moment.

Alleging "improper planning" by the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP), the residents say that if the rain continues, water from the tank might overflow onto the roads and enter the surrounding areas.

Any breaching of the tank, which was also known as "Gandhadhakotikere" as the Government Sandalwood Depot was located close to where the Aranya Bhavan stands today, will be disastrous. The area across the Tank Bund Road is thickly populated. Earlier, excess water from the tank used to flow into the Jakkarayanakere on Seshadripuram Platform Road and the Binny Mill Tank, which have since been breached. The Sankey Tank has never breached after 1960-61 when the palace orchards were destroyed to develop Sadashivanagar and later the Rajamahal Vilas extensions.

"With the waste weirs of the Sankey Tank blocked, water is likely to flow onto the roads. After the height of the waste weirs was raised, a strong retaining wall should have been built. But substandard construction material was used and the wall collapsed weeks after it was built," U. Ananth, a resident of Kodandarampura, said.

To increase the water level in the tank, the BMP started redoing the 1,700-metre pathway and the tank bund in May. The idea was to widen the earlier tank bund by 2.5 metres and build a new retaining wall on the embankment by August, all at a cost of Rs. 69 lakhs. But rain delayed the work and also led to the collapse of the wall.

The water from the tank has submerged the immersion pond, the boating jetty, the landscaping, the iron railings and even the pathway surrounding the lake. The retaining wall of the tank is submerged after Saturday night's rain.

Though Chief Minister N. Dharam Singh, who inspected the tank 10 days ago, has ordered an inquiry into the alleged misuse of over Rs. 5 crores spent on the restoration of the tank, nothing has come of it.

Members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday reiterated their demand for a Corps of Detective (CoD) probe into the issue. They threatened to stage a dharna in front of the Chief Minister's residence if their demand is not met.

Meanwhile, Mayor R. Narayanaswamy and a team of corporators are all set to perform "Ganga Puja" on the banks of the tank on Monday. "The Mayor will perform the puja as water has overflowed over the `kodi' (waste weir) of the tank," a BMP press release said.