Lakeside residents are cut up with Katta

Lakeside residents are cut up with Katta

They seek a clean Kempambudi Lake to escape the mosquito menace and stench

Senthalir S. Bangalore

Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) minister Katta Subramanya Naidu faced hostile residents when he visited Kempambudi Lake on Tuesday.
The residents of Kempegowda Nagar in Basavanagudi had reason to be angry. Over a decade, they had been suffering the mosquito menace and stench emanating from the lake. The sewage water being discharged into the lake has now turned the lake into an open drain. Though, over the years, plans had been formulated by various governments to save the lake, nothing concrete was done.
"The legislators and ministers have been visiting this place every year. But the problems continue to this day. In the meantime, the lake has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes," KV Chandranna Gowda, a resident of Kempegowda Nagar, said.
To solve the problems, the board has now set up a lifting pump. This will pump the sewage water to sewage treatment plants (STPs) in the Vrishabhavathi Valley for recycling.
"Once the desilting process is over, one million litre daily (mld) of treated sewage water will be let into the lake. One sewage treatment plant has been set up at a cost of Rs1 crore exclusively for the lake," a board engineer, who did not want to be named, said.
To arrest the flow of sewage water into the lake, ring sewers were built at a cost of Rs50 lakh last year.
"The sewage water entering from four directions — Kempegowda Nagar, Hanumanthnagar, Bhavani Nagar, Gandhi Bazaar and from a nearby slum — will be arrested. About 10 mld of sewage water is entering the lake. This water will be pumped to the STPs in the valley for treatment. Once the desilting is completed by the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike, the treated water will be sent back to the lake," he said.
The board will then formulate plans for the revival of the lake.
After inspecting the development works in the lake, Katta directed the Palike and board officials to complete the work in three months.
He said people too should take the responsibility of rejuvenating the lake. "Residents should not let the sewage water flow directly into the open drains. Stringent action would be taken against those found letting the sewage flow into the drains," he said.