BENGALURU: Located in the heart of the city, Ulsoor lake has become an eyesore. Because of the recent rains, huge piles of garbage from stormwater drains flowed into the lake, but Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) appears to be oblivious to it.
Residents maintain that this is the situation every time it rains, especially during monsoon. Tarun Bajaj, a resident of Ulsoor, says, “After heavy rains, we see garbage and plastics making their way into the lake. This is definitely not a pleasurable sight. Besides it spreads a nauseating odour. Many residents have complained about this to the local officials but in vain.”
Earlier, about 11 MLD (million litres per day) of sewage used to enter the lake from Jeevanahalli through two inlets. The BWSSB decided to divert the sewage to sewage treatment plants in Koramangala and Challagatta Valley. But, sewage continues to enter the lake during rains.
The problem is that many residents are still letting sewage into the storm water drains. Ram Prasad from Friends of Lake said mesh should be used to prevent garbage from entering the lake.
A BBMP official said, “We have directed the local engineers to take up the cleaning work. We are trying to figure out a solution to this problem.”
The pollution control board is willing to fund `4 crore for the construction of a mini STP at Ulsoor lake. In fact, the STP, if functional, will be able to treat 2 million litres of wastewater per day. But, there seems to be no development in this regard.