Mysuru: There is no shortage of attractions at the famous Mysuru Zoo – from the tall but mild giraffes to the roaring lions, the conservatory is home to a wide array of animal and bird species. However, the lack of a state-of-the-art aquarium was one aspect that gnawed at wildlife enthusiasts and regular patrons of the zoo. However, tourism minister SR Mahesh has taken a keen interest to address this lacuna, and has opened channels of discussion with a New Zealand-based company to develop an aquarium on the zoo’s premises.“The project will be completed under the ‘Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) module. A New Zealand company has expressed interest in developing the aquarium, and the project will be completed soon, and the aquarium will be opened to the public at the earliest,” said Mahesh, who visited Karnaji Lake on Sunday.The minister said that the Butterfly Park on the lake premises would be opened soon, once additional security measures were in place. “Locals have raised many issues pertaining to the maintenance of Karanji lake . Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) and other civic agencies will address these issues on a priority basis. The lake is one of the major attractions of Mysuru, and can really boost tourism if it is maintained properly,” said Mahesh.The tourism department had allocated a sum of Rs 6.26 crore towards revival and upkeep of Kukkarahalli, Karanji and Lingambudi lakes, Mahesh said. “The money will be utilised for desilting, and preventing flow of drainage into the waterbodies. We will also fence the premises of the lakes to protect them. We are planning on building channels that carry water collected atop Chamundi Hills to the lakes,” the minister said, adding that of the total corpus of funds, Rs 2.06 crore had been earmarked for the revival of Karnaji Lake alone.Attributing the pollution of Karanji Lake to the discharge of drainage from the surrounding residential localities, Mahesh said, “We will soon put a stop to this. Once water from Chamundi Hills starts flowing into the lake, the quality of the water will improve drastically.”Reaffirming the state government’s commitment to preserve and protect waterbodies in the state, Mahesh added, “Chief minister HD Kumaraswamy has stressed the need to protect and develop lakes of Mysuru.”The minister said that he would raise the issue concerning illegal structures at the Mysore Race Club (MRC). Pointing out that housing horses within the race course premises was in violation of the agreement that MRC had with the government, Mahesh said, “We have already directed the MRC president to demolish the stables. Only horse races are allowed MRC. They cannot have stables there. Hundreds of migrants are staying on the MRC premises.”‘Siddaramaiah may return before cabinet expansion’Making light of former chief minister and senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah’s planned trip abroad, which coincides with the Belagavi assembly session, Mahesh said, “Siddaramaiah was the CM. He will not take any decision that could have an adverse effect on the state government. He must have finalised his schedule without being aware of the winter session dates. Since the cabinet expansion is scheduled on December 22, Siddaramaiah may return before that date.”Mahesh added that Kumaraswamy had agreed to disburse funds for the Hampi Utsav.

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