Lake in Yelahanka to get new lease of life

Lake to get new lease of life

The Hindu

Sewage to be diverted to treatment plant

BANGALORE: The Puttenahalli lake near Yelahanka is in for a facelift and clean-up. In the process, sewage will be diverted from the lake and recycled at the treatment plant in Yelahanka, which now functions below its capacity. The plant can treat up to 10 million litres a day.

The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board has prepared plans to divert sewage from the lake at a cost of Rs. 68 lakhs.

Tenders for the project are to be called before the yearend. Sewage pipelines of 450 to 500 mm diameter will be laid for diverting wastewater. The relatively small lake now covers an area of 12 hectares and was once considerably larger.

According to residents of the area, despite being highly polluted, Puttenahalli lake continues to attract a fair number of migratory birds in the winter. If the Lake Development Authority is to be involved in its restoration, the water body can become a tourist attraction and at other times a centre for water sports, they say.

Rejuvenation

The reason the lake is polluted now is because sewage from the Karnataka Housing Board Colony nearby directly flows into it, BWSSB engineers say. If that is stopped, close to one million litres a day (MLD) of sewage will not get into the lake. Sewage from two apartment complexes and a club around the lake is also likely to be diverted to the treatment plant at the colony, which has 1.35 MLD capacity. All this will help in the rejuvenation of the lake.