BENGALURU: “Anyway untreated sewage is entering the lake, what’s the harm if more sewage enters it?” This was Bommanahalli constituency MLA Satish Reddy’s poser to Forest Department officials.
The exchange occurred during an inspection of the damage caused by rain to Storm Water Drains (SWD) by Bengaluru Development and Town Planning Minister K J George and other officials. The lake in question is Madiwala lake.
Satish Reddy said if the height of the bund around Madiwala lake is reduced, water from the surrounding areas can flow into it, thereby preventing flooding of the areas. The Forest officials present there said sewage water flowing into the lake would pollute it. To this Reddy said, “Anyway untreated sewage is entering the lake. What’s the harm if more sewage enters it?”
George then intervened and asked authorities to reduce the height of the bund and to arrange for excess water from the lake to be released via other outlets. The minister said that work on rectifying the SWDs had not been done due to lack of funds. He added that `25 crore was immediately available and asked BBMP Commissioner Manjunath Prasad to take up work at the earliest.
George also said that due to land acquisition issues near Silk Board junction, the underground drainage work hadn’t begun in these areas.