BBMP officials inform they are erecting a 33-ft statue of Swami Vivekananda in Yediyur Lake and later, corporator Ramesh says a bird sanctuary would be set up.
Residents near Yediyur Lake, Kanakapura Road, were in for a shock on Tuesday morning when some officials of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) began to drain out water to make way for the 33-feet Vivekananda statue in the middle of the waterbody.
Only last year, the 10.4-acre lake was renovated with walking space and a garden around it. The draining out of water upset residents, whose borewells are replenished by the lake. "When we saw water being drained out, we asked for an explanation. The workers told us that they plan to erect a bronze statue of Vivekananda," said Vidya Rao, resident of Jayanagar.
Environmental activist Leo Saldhana said: "The high court of Karnataka has ruled that lakes shall not be de-silted or drained without prior permit. No alterations can be made in the lake either. This is in clear violation of the high court order, and we want an explanation."
While the residents and the activists expressed reservation, corporator NR Ramesh, denied violating any law. "We have only put up the banners for now and the work on the statue will take another two years to complete. The activists are mistaken as there is no de-silting going on in the lake."
Ramesh said that he has plans to set up a bird sanctuary at the lake premises. "In a project called Banadi Marali Ba (welcome avian friends), we have set up an office for the forest cell. They have suggested that we plant custard apples, guavas and gooseberries to attract more birds to the lake," he said.
More than 1.6 lakh Ganesha idols were immersed in this lake this year, while it has the capacity only for 60,000. "The lake was dirty and had begun to stink due to decayed material floating on the lake. We decided to drain about two to three feet of water," Ramesh said.
A whole lot has happened but the BBMP joint commissioner (South) Hema Chandra had no clue about the incident. "I have no idea. I will look into the matter," he said.
BBMP chief engineer Prakash, too, did not know about the incident. "We have not given an approval for any statue to be erected on the lakebed or for any project for a bird sanctuary," he said.
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