Bhat and several other residents in the locality are concerned because of the experience they had in 2015 deluge. “The agricultural lake failed to store rainwater last monsoon due to the damaged shutter,” he said. “The lake could not hold water even during the recent rain,” Bhat said. Raghavendra Bhat pointed out that the rainwater would be wasted if officials failed to repair the shutter without any further delay. “The bunds of the lake are also not strong. The officials should strengthen them immediately. This will also help in recharging groundwater in the locality,” Bhat demanded.

When contacted, a Public Works Department official said that there are over 1,600 lakes in the region, which are being desilted one after the other. But another official who is in charge of maintaining Kakkalur lake claimed that they were yet to receive any complaint from the residents pertaining to damages in the shutter. He said that the department indeed has a proposal to desilt the water body. “We have submitted a proposal to the government to rejuvenate the lake and turn it into a tourist spot. However, the proposal is still pending. Encroachments will be evicted, and the lake will be recovered once we get approval,” the official said.

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