Mysore/Mysuru: Hebbal Lake, one of the historical water bodies, which was on the verge of death got a new lease of life with the timely financial assistance of a whopping Rs. 105 crore by Infosys Foundation. Rajya Sabha Member Sudha Murty was the Chairperson of the Foundation then, when the plans were drawn for conservation and development of the water body.

The Lake was developed on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model with the joint initiative of District Administration and Infosys Foundation. As a result, the vast 37-acre expanse of Lake area wore a new look in the year 2017 and notably it was also a biggest lake conservation project in the State.

The conservation and development works included setting up of a large scale Sewage Treatment Plant (STP), new look for lake bund, safety grill, electric lamps and greenery works.

After five years of maintenance, Infosys Foundation handed over the Lake to the Government, but the latter failed in its task.

Following the demand of local authorities, the maintenance work was handed over to Infosys Foundation for another period of five years. Over 60 staff of the Foundation including 25 security guards man the Lake, working in three shifts a day. But the moot question here is, whether the efforts of Infosys Foundation by spending several crores of rupees for the cause of environment,  have borne fruits?

On the flip side, what can we expect from our local authorities, when they fail in taking up stringent measures to check sewage and toxic water from mixing with lake water.