BENGALURU: The recent frothing of Bellandur lake has again triggered debate on the efforts of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) and Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) for the upkeep of water bodies in the city. Citizens are now raising questions about the delay in implementation of the project by BBMP to install surveillance cameras around Bellandur lake.
Taking cognisance of the repeated incidents of fire and the increasing water pollution due to dumping of garbage in the 951-acre lake, BBMP had sanctioned construction of watchtowers at ST Bed, Sun City and Ambedkar Nagar almost two years ago. Marshals will be deployed at each watch tower to keep a 24-hour surveillance on miscreants and other illegal activities. Right now, only two watch towers are functional. The project is still pending.
“There is one CCTV camera next to my apartment. So nowadays, people don’t throw anything on Yemlur side, keeping in mind the camera. But they still dump waste at other parts of the Bellandur lake, where there are no CCTV cameras,” Vishrut Singh, a resident of Yemlur, said.
The installation of 50 CCTV cameras will be over in one month, the Solid Waste Management (SWM) department of BBMP told CE. “Miscreants set the foliage on fire and throw rubbish in the lake,” Sarfaraz Khan, Joint Commissioner of SWM Department, BBMP, said. “If we can stop such activities, we can definitely control the problem to a great extent,” he added.
BBMP has proposed installation of 50 cameras near different outlets and inlets of the lake, along with exclusive control rooms. “We have already installed 15 cameras, but there was a delay in the project because of the difficulty to reach the tower locations and interruptions in power supply,” Khan said.