BENGALURU: The Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) has now begun clearing weeds from Bellandur Lake with the help of weed harvesters.
On Monday, another harvester from Mumbai was brought to the lake to remove the thick water-soaked weeds.
BDA official Nagaraj said that a total of four harvesters would be pressed into service from Thursday.
Each machine is capable of removing 25 tonnes of weeds every day and will be at the job from 7am to 7pm. With four machines working round-the-clock, the earliest the lake can be expected to be rid of the weeds is two months.
Officials said that weeds were thick at the Challaghatta side in particular and would require a lot of effort to remove them. “Weeds normally float, but these weeds are very thick with a lot of undergrowth. To cut them is going to take a lot of time,” Nagaraj said.
Another worry for the officials is the disposal of the mountain of weeds. As of now, machines are depositing the weeds on the lake bund. Officials plan to transport the weeds to composting units or quarry pits.
The expert committee is likely to take a decision on it soon based on how weeds were disposed of from Madiwala Lake earlier in a similar operation.
Work around the lake also progressed a little faster these past three days due to public holidays due to which traffic was light.
However, with Tuesday bringing on the massive traffic on to the roads, moving of equipment. and thereby work, is expected to go at a slower pace.