BENGALURU:Untreated sewage flowing into Varthur Lake, the second largest water body in the city, has been causing the lake to well up with froth in the last few days.
Shocked residents who live around the lake may have no respite from the frothy spill for some time to come. According to the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), which carries out sewage diversion in the Bellandur-Varthur region, it will take two to three years for it to fully stop the flow of untreated sewage into the lake.
Officials say the white floating foam is the result of heavy rain and the presence of detergents in the sewage water. Varthur Lake receives 400-420 mld (million litres per day) of untreated sewage. This makes sewage treatment plants (STPs) in the area vital. However, the construction of several plants has been bogged down by court cases, encroachment and land acquisition issues, and lack of funds.
The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) is tasked with development and upkeep of the lake, but BDA officials say they are helpless and can clean up the 439-acre lake, at an estimated cost of around `450 crore, only if sewage is diverted from it. The authority is yet to even prepare a detailed project report (DPR).
“Unless sewage diversion is completed, taking up any development work is useless. Not just Varthur, we are planning to develop four big lakes in the city and for that, we need almost `2,000 crore. We are planning to submit a proposal to the Union Urban Development Ministry and the DPR will be prepared as per Central government norms,” says Shivshankar, BDA Engineer Officer-1. He says 10.25 acres in the area have been encroached and need to be cleared.
According to BWSSB Additional Chief Engineer S P Rudramurthy, only 100 mld of the sewage that flows into Varthur Lake is treated. And the STPs being set up to treat the remaining waste will be functional only after another 1-2 years.
“It has not been an easy task as 35 acres of land have to be acquired. These are fertile, cultivable lands near downstream Varthur. Farmers in the area went to the High Court and the Supreme Court, where their cases were dismissed. Now, the land has to be surveyed by the KIADB (Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board) and the be handed over to us.” He says STPs with a collective capacity of 278 mld that are coming up in the K&C (Koramangala-Challaghata) Valley, and the 90-mld one being set up in Bellandur Ammanikere will help control the damage. “These treatment plants will intercept sewage flow not only into Varthur Lake but also into a chain of interconnected water bodies.”
S Krishnappa, Chief Engineer, Cauvery Division, BWSSB, says the Bellandur Ammanikere plant will be completed by December 2016. “We are hoping to complete it ahead of our deadline of 40 months,” he says.
‘Need Holistic Planning’
Environmentalist Yellappa Reddy believes the STPs, if completed soon, will be a much-needed boon. “There are so many problems in implementing this project and even it is slow, it should be done systematically and holistically in every basin.”