BBMP to breathe life into Iblur lake
BENGALURU: The Iblur lake in Bellandur area, which has been in a state of neglect for over eight years, will be finally restored and rejuvenated by BBMP. The civic body will divert the sewage by dewatering, deweeding and desilting the lake bed.
While residents of Iblur are happy, those living near Bellandur lake are worried as they feel that diversion of sewage from Iblur lake will aggravate the sewage problem in Bellandur lake.
Sonali Singh, a resident of Bellandur, says, “The work has already started and they are directly connecting the sewage towards Bellandur lake. By restoring one lake, they are spoiling another lake. Instead of making sure treated water gets into the lake, they are diverting sewage. It won’t work in the long run.”
She added, “They are forcing apartment owners to have STPs but where are the civic body’s STPs? Bellandur and Varthur are the last two big lakes in the city, and if we do not take steps to save them now, it will be too late.”
On the other hand, an elated resident from Iblur, Ram Kumar, pointed out, “From encroachment, dumping garbage to parking in the lake premises, Iblur lake had been bogged by innumerable issues for a long time now. The death of this lake would have meant the end of our hopes as there would be no way for the underground water to be recharged as most people here do not have Cauvery water.
“However, slowly, pressure from various RWAs and Iblur Lake Forum changed everything. BDA took the initiative to fence the lake. The DC too took action against encroachments. Finally, the CM visited the lake last year which brought the much needed attention,” he said.
The Iblur Lake Forum has been playing a pivotal role in making this project a reality. Their fight started in 2013. There have been innumerable inspections by BWSSB, KSPCB, BBMP, LDA and so on between 2014 and 2016.