Saving lakes must be people’s movement

Saving lakes must be people’s movement
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: With the recent fish kill in Jagaranahalli Lake last Wednesday, the spotlight is once again on the state of the city’s once limpid lakes.

A few months ago, thousands of fish died in the Ulsoor Lake when its waters were contaminated beyond tolerance level by the accumulated muck in storm water drains that flowed in during the first few showers.

Along with the usual reasoning that similar contamination could have killed the Jagaranahalli Lake fish, Lake Development Authority (LDA) officials suspect that locals could have used explosives or poison to kill fish so that they may be gathered and sold. This adds another troublesome dimension to this nagging environmental problem.

Fish in Bangalore’s lakes usually die when the Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) or the quantity of oxygen available in the water drops due to contamination. Sewage inlets cause a large part of the contamination in urban lakes.

When they were designed several decades ago, the storm water drains were supposed to feed the surface run-off rainwater into lakes; not sewage. Sadly, all the drains have turned into sewage carriers now, as the city’s sewage system has not expanded to keep pace with the demand.

LDA and BWSSB like all other government departments have been woefully lacking in efforts to save the city’s lakes thanks to resource crunches, apathy and general inefficiency.

The sewage that is let into some lakes does not even get primary treatment. Sewage treatment plants meant exclusively for treating sewage water let into lakes are few. Setting up more such plants involves investment of crores of rupees and the Government may be unable to foot the bill alone.

It is time for committed and lasting private sector-government partnerships to save the city’s lakes. And this translates to adoption of lakes by private stake-holders such as corporates willing to give back to the community.

Ordinary citizens could organise “shramdaan” in aid of the dying lakes and help in cleaning them up.

For decades now, revival of these lakes has been the scope and responsibility of the Government alone. Where the Government is left with little resources to fund and sustain critical sectors such as health and education, how can one expect dramatic measures to save the city’s lakes - which is counted among the last few priorities?

Saving lakes should no longer be a Government programme, but a people’s movement.