Boating docked as shilparamam lake dries up

No water but boats aplenty

A beautiful lake surrounded by lush green plantations, the mellifluous raga of chirping birds and sunshine will give you a warm hug…this is the description of the Shilparamam Lake on its website. However, the hotspot tourist destination portrays a stark contrast. The lake, which is spread over one acre, is almost dry and stands out as a sore thumb.

The lake has always been used for boating. There were two boats—both rowing and paddle—which was used by tourists at the art and culture village. In the past few weeks, one half of the lake completely dried up. Due to lack of maintenance, many birds which used to dot the lake, have died and its carcass remains unattended too.

Boating has now been suspended at the lake. Officials at the Shilparamam note that the lake is entirely dependent on groundwater and rainfall. Rs 30 is charged for boating for 15 minutes of the ride and the centre earns a revenue of Rs 500- Rs 600 per day from boating.

Officials also noted that they spend a whopping Rs 10 lakh towards electricity bills for the lake and cite this as the reason for the suspension of boating. “It is not viable to fill up the lake now as the monthly expenditure runs up to Rs 10 lakh. We would have to depend on good rains in the next season for the boating facility to start,” said G Kishan Rao, special officer, Shilparamam.