Garbage spikes pollution in Kavoor Lake

MANGALURU:

Kavoor Lake

is one of the very few lakes left in

Mangaluru city

. The water body, however, has turned into a dumping yard for everything—from

liquor bottles

to

sanitary napkins

.

On Monday, animal activist Tauseef Ahmed was shocked to see the level of pollution at the lake when he reached there to release a water snake into it.

“The pollution level at the lake is only increasing. I have been releasing water snakes and birds to this lake for the past seven years. I was deeply hurt when the snake that I had just released to the lake was trapped in a bottle. Releasing the snake from the bottle was another Herculean task. The lake is covered with all kinds of waste including medical waste. Waste like large number of liquor bottles to plastic bottles, syringes, sanitary napkins and even condoms was found,“ said Ahmed.

Next day, Tauseef again visited the lake to clean a portion of it. “The lake is spread over 9.5 acres and is very beautiful. For several years, we have been hearing about the government’s plans to develop this lake. I also heard that a few volunteers cleaned the lake recently. The locals who spotted me cleaning the lake even warned that getting into the lake could be hazardous to health. The lake has been inviting migratory birds and needs immediately attention,” he said. Tauseef may have attempted cleaning the lake for three hours, but believes that at least 50-60 days of dedicated cleaning is necessary.

SEVERAL LAKES HAVE VANISHED IN CITY

“Over the years, several lakes in the city have vanished. We fear that pollution may cause death of marine animals. Several agriculturalists depend on water from this lake. Locals suspect that drainage water may be let into or medical waste is being dumped deliberately,” he said.

The environment officer, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, Rajashekar Puranik said they have received no complaints regarding the lake pollution.