Hubballi: For years it was the most popular spot for immersion of Ganesha idols in the city as people celebrated Ganesh Chaturthi with their usual fervor, little realising that they were destroying the 300- year- -old well, Kapila, in old Hubballi, in the process. Said to have been built in 1708 by a Brahmin, it was reportedly named after the 22nd Yati (seer) of Uttaradhi Mutt, Sathyapurna Theertha. Once the main source of drinking water for the people of old Hubballi, its water was also used for growing sugarcane and vegetables in the fields around it.
But with as many as 3,000 Ganesha idols immersed in it every year for the last three decades, the well turned into a landfill. Environmentalists cried foul as the lead, gypsum, sulphur, phosphorus and magnesium found in the painted Plaster of Paris idols contaminated its water and polluted its surroundings, turning them into breeding grounds of mosquitoes.
As the municipal corporation did nothing to protect the well despite protests and pleas by the eco warriors, hundreds of volunteers, including school and college students formed a " Yuva Brigade" to revive it. Backed by several organisations and like-minded individuals, they removed the trash from the well, which had dried up over the years owing to the recurring drought, and found water as they desilted it upto a depth of 15 feet. Now the volunteers plan to de-silt it upto another eight to10 feet.
That's not all. The people of the city have come together to draw up a plan to beautify the well's surroundings with waterfalls and gardens over a 24,000 sq ft area to restore it to its old glory. "A small mantap near the well was once used for resting by sages on pilgrimage. But this historical well became a dumping ground for the idols after 1984. Now we citizens have come together to revive it," says Srinagar Colony Residents' Association president, Rajan Anvekar. The revival began on July 1 with people volunteering to desilt the well every Sunday. Interestingly, they have found ancient idols of temple deities in the process.
