BENGALURU: Close to 100 trucks made their way to Varthur Lake towards Thubarahalli around 9.30pm on Saturday and dumped mud, covering about 150 feet of the lake bed. The dumping went on till 6 am on Sunday. Only last week, the National Green Tribunal had banned all kinds of activity around Bellandur lake nearby. Last year, it had said that lakes should have a buffer zone of 75 metres.
On Sunday morning, earthmovers were seen levelling the mud-filled area. On noticing the dumping, alert residents immediately informed the civic agencies and Karnataka Lake Conservation and Development Authority. Lake authority chairman G Vidyasagar said he has received a complaint and will inspect the lake.
A resident pointed out, “It has been going on for almost two weeks now. But, on Saturday night, the scene was quite different. The lorries were loaded with mud which was dumped on the lake bed. This went on until morning.”
When Express visited the spot on Sunday, two men who were there claimed the area to be their property. When residents demanded papers, they said they have all the documents and they will make them available after five days.