Who will clean Puttenahalli Lake?

Who will clean Puttenahalli Lake?
Vijay Times

WITH the Puttenahalli lake yet to be deweeded and cleaned, residents of Puttenahalli and J P Nagar may have more nightmares in store for them as the areas are still not safe from the threat of being flooded again during the monsoon.

The authorities concerned, who are not willing to take the responsibility of deweeding the lake, have been blaming the personnel of other departments for the lapse. Puttenahalli, which comes under the Bommanahalli City M unicipal Council (CMC) limits, was the worst affected during the incessant rains that lashed the City last year . S Sc ce en ne e l la as st t m mo on ns so o Many houses were inundated during the rains and the residents were subjected to hardship for over a month. It may be recalled that Chief Minister H D K umaraswamy , during an inspection of Puttenahalli last month, had said that the State government would set aside Rs 12 crore for the overall development of the area.

This included work on storm water drains (SWDs) and sewage valleys. But till date, no concrete steps have been taken in this regard. The large-scale encroachments in and around Puttenahalli lake, indiscriminate dumping of garbage, and diversion of sewage and drain water to the lake from nearby areas have polluted the lake, which is already covered with weeds. With no space for free flow of rain water , the areas could get flooded. Bhagya, a resident of Puttenahalli, said, "W e were put to a lot of hardship during the last rains. W e are sure it will be the same this year too. U nfortunately , the CMC has not taken steps to desilt and deweed the lake and the drains. If these are done, rain water will flow to the lake and there will be no flooding." "As a result of last week’s rain, the lake became full and water was flowing. I don’t know what will happen during this monsoon," she added.

Rafiq, another resident, said, "Former chief minister N Dharam Singh and the present Chief Minister have inspected the area and the lake. Though they had assured us that the lake would be desilted, there is no sign of the work beginning. The CMC has not geared itself up to face another disaster . If it rains heavily , then the residents will have to face the brunt." : When B BV VT T spoke to CMC assistant executive engineer Hiranya K umar , he said the lake should be desilted and developed by the Lake Development Authority (LDA).

"As the lake doesn’t come under our jurisdiction, it is not our responsibility to maintain it," he added.

Authority speak

T alking to BVT , LDA Chief Executive Officer B K Singh said, "We haven’t received any direction or funds from the government to remove weeds at Puttenahalli lake till date. The lake doesn’t come under our purview ." "Weeds are growing due to the diversion of sewage water into the lake. Hence, first sewage water should be stopped from entering the lake. Otherwise, there is no point in cleaning the lake. Weeds will grow in another four months time," he added.