The painter’s palette has come to the rescue of a water body on the city’s outskirts that has been a victim of neglect for years.
Neknampur lake is believed to be a centuries-old water body, part of a well-organised water system that has watered the city since medieval times. Years of neglect from authorities and locals, worsened by encroachment of its shorelines and feeder channels, has turned the lake into a cesspool as the township of Alkapuri grew around it.
A city-based environment conservation group took up the task of rejuvenating the water body. Protection of the lake, however, proved challenging. A solution was found in the 66 sewage pipes littered on the periphery of the water body. Artwork now is helping draw attention to the lake’s plight.
“The pipes have been lying there for over a year. Umpteen requests to the authorities to have them removed went unheeded. We decided to erect them and turn them into a fence and given them a touch of colour,” said Madhulika S. Choudhary of the Dhruvansh, whose volunteers are working to save the lake.
Standing eight foot tall, these pipes now form a fence and a gateway to the mouth of the lake as one turns right from Osman Sagar Road. The fence with artwork has already captured the attention of locals, which could be crucial in the volunteers’ fight to save the lake.
The sewerage also narrates a tale of threat the lake faces. According to a panchayat official, the pipes were procured with funding from local real estate businessmen. The purpose was to lay an underground pipeline running parallel to the existing system from the residential areas to the lake, for sewage disposal.
“The government has no plans for a pipeline. It was learnt that the pipeline was procured without government knowledge, the plan was shelved,” the official said.