THE delay in the completion of the underground , drainage work in Tumkur has affected Amanikere. The stinking lake poses health problems for those residence nearby. Most of the sewage diverted from the town reaches the lake. It has also been a convenient spot for dumping garbage and debris daily, since almost half of the vast lake area remains dry. To the farmers from the surrounding villages, Amanikere is ,the only hope for irrigation. But for this lake, according to the, local people, hundreds of farm bore ,wells located within ten kilometre from, the lake' would have gone dry.

Amanikere located on the Tumkur-Sira road occupies more than five hundred acres. The lake has a storage capacity of about 170 million cubic feet. Members of the Wild Life Nature Awareness Club (WANC) in Tumkur have identified about fifty species of migratory birds at" Amanikere.

Farmers from nearby villages have joined hands with environmentalists, NGOs and prominent people in Tumkur to do their bit towards the conservation of the lake. Last year college students volunteered to work for a month under a clean- the- lake campaign. A voluntary organisation formed with the objective of RETAC (Restoration of Tumkur Amanikere and its Catchment area) has chalked out a comprehensive plan for the conservation and development of the lake. In spite of these programmes there is neither restoration nor development of the lake. In fact because of the regular flow of sewage and I dumping of garbage the condition of the lake has worsened. Also, about 15 acres of the catchment area have made way for encroachments over the years.

Any construction activity in and around the lake would lead to further deterioration. There are already many brick kilns in and around the lake. There was even a plan to construct a bus stand near the lake. Who is bothered about this lake?" asks Hanumanthappa who owns two acres of wet land near Amanikere. The district administration has been blamed for keeping Amanikere under the jurisdiction of the minor irrigation department which cannot afford to release funds for the maintenance and development of the lake.