Vadodara Municipal Corporation considers draining Sursagar

VADODARA: Extreme situations require extreme measures and that seems to be the case with Sursagar too. After debating over means to clean the pond since years now, the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) does not seem averse to draining 26 crore liters of water in the pond.
The pond had earned the reputation of being one of the most polluted amongst the municipal corporations in the state.A thick layer of plaster of Paris (PoP) has been deposited at the bottom of the pond besides water that raises a stink. The PoP depositions is mainly due to immersions of idols in the pond particularly during the Ganpati festival.
The civic body was all set to beautify the pond and develop it as a recreational place even as little thought was given to cleaning it. The issue of cleaning the pond was taken up seriously only after mayor Bharat Dangar put brakes on the beautification project stating that it would make no sense if the water body continued to raise a stink. The Rs 25crore beautification project was cleared in 2014 and a formal ceremony to kick off work was also performed in October in the same year.
The VMC had recently invited expressions of interest (EOI) for cleaning the lake. The scope of work mentioned in the tender document includes that of emptying the pond. According to the document, the pond has water up to four meters depth. Going by the fact that the pond has an area of 65,000 square meters, it would have around 26crore liters of water in it.
VMC executive engineer Alpesh Majmudar said that the possibility of dredging in the pond without emptying it was also being examined. "We had contacted ONGC Ltd too, but it could not help us. If the need be, the pond will be emptied," he said.