Residents living in and around Lingambudhi Lake, which is a major lung space in the city, staged a demonstration on Thursday to express their opposition to the proposed entry fee to ensure proper maintenance.
The Lingambudhi Lake is spread over 216.23 acres of which the water span is 75 acres and the remaining portion is land which has been developed into a tree park and is a major biodiversity hotspot.
The demonstrators urged the Forest Department to drop the move and ensure that there is no entry fee as it amounted to taxing the commoners besides children and senior citizens for making use of the lung space. They said that in the interest of the public the proposal should be dropped. The members were drawn from various organisations under the banner of ‘’Lingambudhi Nagara Udyanavana Vayuharigala Samithi’’
However, sources in the Forest Department said that though there was a proposal which was brought for discussion, it has been decided not to levy any entry fee for using the lake which has been declared as a reserve forest. It was a unanimous decision not to levy any fee though a proposal was sent by the higher-ups in the government, the sources added.
Lingambudhi Lake and Park is one of the three tree parks in the city and the government recently issued a notification that the maintenance of all the tree parks should be through MGNREGA. But the lake being located in urban area maintenance through MGNREGA was out of question and hence an entry fee was conceived and put up for discussion. Based on the public feedback during the discussion, the Forest Department has taken a decision not to levy entry fee, the officials added.
