MYSURU: Days after the district administration and the University of Mysore launched groundwork to desilt the Kukkarahalli Lake , it has run into rough weather with activists questioning the need to launch the work during summer arguing that it will cause irreversible damage to the water body.Questions are being raised about the construction of toilets, entry arches and shelters at the tank bund, which will reduce the green cover at the lake known for its beauty, which lit the imagination of writers, including Kuvempu.While activists launched a signature campaign at the lake site on Wednesday, they are planning to step up pressure with a series of agitations. On Thursday, they will hold a silent protest at the lake, followed by sit-in at the deputy commissioner's office next week. They have also launched an online petition drawing the attention of DC D Randeep and the University of Mysore authorities.The Rs 3-crore project aims to turn the lake into a tourist site and the tourism department has extended Rs 2 crore for it. In the first phase, authorities have started to remove silt and weed at the lake, which has irked activists. According to the varsity's engineering section, silt will be removed along 2.5km of the lake bund, which is expected to help in improving its water holding capacity.Activists, however, argue that "the desilting and deweeding of the lake in the current drought year will cause irreversible damage to the water retention capacity of the lake, and convert it into a dry depression." The online petition, posted by activist B Shashi Booshan , has urged the DC to immediately stop desilting and deweeding in the interest of the lake. Activists say that removing silt at this time of the year will push the water body to the brink given that there is no inflow of fresh water. If desilting is continued, it would further push the water table down, they said asking the authorities to consult experts and stop de-silting immediately.KM Jayaramaiah of the Kukkarahalli Lake Protection Committee , however, said silt is being removed ahead of the monsoon. "The work will take at least four months. We cannot take it up in monsoon," he told TOI. He said the district administration took the decision to desilt and deweed the lake on March 11, last year, which is being implemented now. Attributing the 11-month delay in the project to procedural difficulties, including re-tendering owing to lack of bidders, he said: "I'm a botanist and know how to conserve the lake. I have fought for the lake's protection for two decades."

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