NSS volunteers have been deployed to remove water hyacinth that has proliferated over the Kukkarahalli lake in Mysuru.
This is a short-term effort to ensure that the hyacinth does not choke the waterbody by depleting the oxygen content which could be fatal to the fish, said K.M. Jayaramaiah of Kukkarahalli Lake Conservation Committee.
He said the exercise began on July 28 and NSS volunteers from different colleges will take part in the exercise to be held daily for two hours.
‘’The district NSS Coordinator Suresh has agreed to send one team of 30 students daily and their services will be utilized till a significant portion of the lake is cleared of the weeds’’, said Mr. Jayaramaiah. Even NCC cadets were part of the exercise during the first two days, he added.
The lake falls within the jurisdiction of the University of Mysore and Mr. Jayaramaiah said that the authorities have floated tenders for the cleaning purpose but that would take some more time and hence the NSS volunteers are being deployed.
Environmentalists in the city have also expressed concern over the proliferation of water hyacinth and have said that it has been years since the varsity has initiated an exercise to remove it from Kukkarahalli lake.
