With no UGD, sewage inflow pollutes lake in M’luru

Mangaluru: The historic Moilykere Lake at Jeppu stares at an uncertain future as pollution due to sewage contamination from the surrounding areas poses a clear and present danger to the waterbody.Mangaluru Urban Development Authority (Muda) developed Moilykere, also known as Shettibettu Kere, and handed it over to Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) for maintenance a few years ago. \
However, the civic body has failed to prevent sewage inflow from nearby localities into the lake. Girish K, convenor of the Shettibettu Kere Mattu Katte Samrakshana Vedike, told TOI that providing underground drainage (UGD) connections to houses is a lasting solution to prevent pollution and restore the lake. "Nearly 400 houses in Mahakalipadpu, Adarsh Nagar, Shettibettu and Jeppupatna have no UGD connections. We requested MLAs, ministers and MCC officials for UGD connections six years ago. Initially, MCC informed us that work on developing the UGD network would be taken up along with the Mahakalipadpu Railway Underbridges (RUB). However, no work on UGD development has begun yet," Girish said, adding that a memorandum will be submitted to the MCC commissioner and deputy commissioner yet again. Former mayor Premanand Shetty said the city corporation could not develop the UGD network due to technical issues related to the topography of the area. "Efforts were made to identify a suitable site to develop a wetwell. Since the UGD system functions through gravitational force, the wetwell needs to be built in a low-lying area. However, the project could not be implemented due to lack of a suitable site," Shetty added. Naresh P Shenoy, DC (development), MCC, said the city corporation can take up the UGD project once a suitable place is identified for a wetwell. "However, finding land is a difficult task as residents oppose the development of wetwells in their areas, citing bad odour from the facility. Once the land is acquired, work on the development of the UGD network will begin," he assured.