It will be part of the planned rejuvenation project of lake

The city’s first dedicated cycle track is going to come up along the bund of the Kavoor lake under the Smart City Mission.

Mangaluru Smart City Ltd. (MSCL) has proposed to rejuvenate the lake under the mission at an estimated cost of ₹8 crore, according to its Managing Director Mohammed Nazir.

The cycle track is among the facilities which will be created as part of the rejuvenation project. The cyclists in the city have been demanding dedicated cycle tracks at least on some roads.

“We will examine whether some cycles can be permanently placed for the use of visitors to the lake,” Mr. Nazir told The Hindu.

The lake, whose water holding area is spread over 3.39 hectares (8.37 acres), will be dredged under the project. In addition, the project components include building a walking track, leisure park, public toilet, and vehicle parking facility. The lake will be fenced and there will be an entry plaza.

The ‘kund’ in the middle of the tank will be reconstructed. There will also be landscaping works, the Managing Director said.

According to a bio-ecological study of the lake conducted by Sushmitha K., Assistant Director of the Fisheries Department, and Sreepada K.S. and K. Bhasker Shenoy, professors of applied zoology in Mangalore University, 10 species of fish, which are of less commercial value and belonging to the order Cypriniformes, had been found in the lake.

The study published in the ‘International Journal of Fauna and Biological Studies’ in 2015 said that small weed fish, such as small minnows and barbs, had been found near the edges of the lake all the year round. This attracted the birds to the tank.

The study pointed out that the waterbody faced a great threat from pollution owing to urban waste.

Non-biodegradable material like plastic covers, bottles, metal, glass pieces, garbage, etc., are thrown near the tank bund which gradually entered into the tank.

Pollution owing to domestic waste boosted the growth of algae and other macrophytes in the tank.

The study also mentioned about the encroachment of the waterbody.

The lake can be used as a source of city water supply chain after proper disinfection and purification. It can be developed as an ecotourism spot, the study said.

“...There is an urgent need to protect this tank from further degradation…,” it said.