BENGALURU: The rain has subsided and so has the froth at Bellandur and Varthur lakes. But the issue continues to worry residents. Many of them wonder how long they will have to bear the brunt.
Monil J R, a resident of Bellandur, said, “There has been no difference in our situation. To build the bridge on the Bellandur lake, the outlet was diverted towards Yemlur lake. We had some relief during this time. But Yemlur lake was quite narrow and the froth was getting into houses. They soon opened up the outlet and the froth moved to Bellandur lake as well. We are forced to live with this obnoxious odour and under unhygienic situation.” He added, “We don’t think anything is going to change. There have been so many talks, protests but in vain. There has been no concrete action on the ground.” The situation is the same at Varthur lake.
It’s been five years since untreated sewage from apartments and industries, primarily from HAL, Domlur, Kormangala and Agara, have been flowing into the Bellandur lake. The authorities then fenced the entire lake and installed about 4-6 machines near the lake to spray a chemical which the civic agency claims is a Japanese technology that helps remove the stench and the froth. But this was of no help as as frothing continued.
Continuous inflow of untreated sewage and effluents from industries raised the pollution levels in both the lakes. The pollutants had increased beyond the assimilative capacity. This led to nutrient enrichment and profuse growth of macrophytes and algal bloom, which reduced oxygen levels and threatened aquatic life.