Officials told to complete Sankey Tank restoration by April 15

Officials told to complete Sankey Tank restoration by April 15

The Hindu

Mayor pulls up officials for delay, asks them to raise the height of the fence


BANGALORE: Mayor Mumtaz Begum on Monday directed officials of the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) officials, in-charge of Sankey Tank restoration, to complete work by April 15.

After an inspection of the work, the Mayor, who chided the officials for delay in work, instructed them to increase the height of the fence surrounding the tank bund for safety reasons.

Rain damage

Following heavy rains in September-October last, the tank filled to its brim and the bund retaining wall collapsed. With this, over Rs. 5 crores spent on the restoration work, including construction of an immersion pond, the boating jetty, the obsequies pond, landscaping, the iron railings and even the pathway surrounding the lake were damaged.

Residents of Kodandarampura, Swimming Pool Extension in Malleswaram, Vyalikaval and areas surrounding the tank were worried that the tank might breach. The residents, who accused the BMP of "improper planning," feared that if rains continued, water from the tank might overflow on to the roads and affect the surrounding areas.

To increase the water level in the tank from 928.8 metres to 929.8 metres, the BMP started redoing the entire 1,700-metre pathway and the tank bund in May last. 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 total cost of Rs. 69 lakhs.

But rains delayed the work and also led to the collapse of the retaining wall.

Though the former Chief Minister N. Dharam Singh had ordered an inquiry into the alleged misuse of over Rs. 5 crores spent on the restoration of the tank, work on the tank continued at a snail's pace.

On Monday, the Mayor asked the officials to develop a children's play area, construct proper toilets and a cement pathway surrounding the tank. Deputy Mayor M. Lakshminarayana, BMP Joint Commissioner (West) M.A. Khalid and other officials accompanied the Mayor.