Bellandur Lake chokes on foam

Bellandur Lake chokes on foam, crores go down toxic drain
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: As you pass through Yemalur, on the city’s outskirts, you can’t miss a water body of toxic ooze. It looks like a drain but can’t be called one. As you wander across a bridge built over the stench and foam and ask urchins, they reveal it’s the Bellandur Lake.

This water body is a stark sign of neglect and is in urgent need of help. Villagers here said that the lake was so polluted that it had become a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

Village councillor Naryanamma said, “We are deeply pained by the sight of the lake. The newly constituted Lake Development Authority (LDA) has not done any work here. It has only claimed of have taken care of all the problems. As the city’s sewage flows into this lake, the water that passes by our village stops flowing under the bridge as the water foams up. The stench is nauseating.”

Another resident, Srinivas, said that the LDA had spent a lot of money cleaning the lake but has nothing to show for results.

Srinivas said, “We have apprised the LDA on the lake and they have apparently spent Rs. 3 crore for cleaning. There is an LDA board on the foreshore of the lake, which says ‘be green and save blue’. The water is in fact ‘polluting green’ and not blue.”

When contacted, conservator of forests and LDA Vanashree Vipin Singh said the LDA had taken note of the lake’s current state. “We have introduced the weeding process in the lake. Diffusers have been introduced to aerate the water, but the aerobic and unaerobic treatment process is yet to be implemented. We are only monitoring water quality at the moment.”

The villagers disagree and are worried they may have to endure the pollution.

Vanashree said the LDA will work in tandem with the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) to clean the lake.

BWSSB sources said the KMC Valley treatment plant, situated near the lake, would divert all drainage water. “We are working on increasing our drainage treatment capacity to 255 million litres a day. Once we do this, the lake will be revived to its former glory. The National River Conservation Plan states that all lakes and rivers are to be freed of drainage inflow.”

Although the plant is already installed with an operational capacity of 198 million litres a day (MLD), the drainage flow is not controlled.