Mangaluru: Anekere the historic lake built by Pandyas of the Jain dynasty is now going to lose not less than 8 acres of land out of 24 acres. The State Government has taken up the widening of the road in a place where hardly a few vehicles ply.
Public Works Department (PWD) personnels express that there is a lot of political pressure on Karkala Town Municipality. As per the plan 18 feet of lake land will be acquired for a distance of 250 metres, which roughly works out to eight acres, and exactly is one-third of the total lake area.
Anekere lake has been shrinking for sometime now due to one reason or the other. Though it has historic importance, King Pandya VI had built a Basadi in between the lake, called “Kerebasadi”. Elephants used to play in the lake during the rule of Bairavarasa, one of the rulers of Karkala.
In the past, many attempts have been by the nature lovers to save this lake but to no avail. Even the school children and social service clubs of the town have from time to time helped in keeping the lake free from weeds.
Now it is upto the State Government to see that the place of scenic beauty and historical importance is not damaged and is protected for the sake of generation-next.
