BYRAMANGALA VILLAGE, BIDADI (RAMANAGARA): Unlike Bellandur lake, the oozing froth from Byramangala lake in Bidadi, which adjoins Ramanagara assembly constituency represented by Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, and is fed by the by Vrushabavathi river flowing from Bengaluru, does not fall on any passing software engineer. Neither is it located in the state capital to grab global attention, besides that of political leaders and activists.
But frothing at Byramangala lake, caused by Bengaluru sending its "poisonous chemicals’’ to it, is causing severe skin and health problems to local farmers using the same water to breed fish and grow fruits and vegetables in their fields — which ultimately comes back to Bengaluru for its citizens’ consumption. The Vrushabavathi river originates near Bull Temple in Basavanagudi, South Bengaluru, and flows underground towards Gali Anjaneya Temple, Kengeri and then Bidadi before joining Cauvery river at Sangama near Mekedaatu.
Located some 40 km from Bengaluru, the lake in Byaramangala village of Bidadi taluk is part of Vrushabavathi valley which carries toxic pollutants from Bengaluru. The canal (naala) from the lake passes through at least 28 villages, including Chowkahalli, Kolleganahalli, Gharepalya, Ramanahalli, Billedoddi and other villages in Byramangala and toxic pollutants are entering agricultural fields where farmers also grow sugarcane and paddy.
In fact, frothing at Byramangala Lake is worse than that at Bellandur Lake in Bengaluru. But no one’s paying attention. There is no sewage treatment plant (STP) nor effective mitigation measures taken, and things have turned from bad to worse. And villagers blame Bengaluru for their woes. Right from expired medicines to paint, ice-cream powder, industrial effluents containing acid, fluoride, methyl and more, all which are harmful to the human body, end up in Byramangala Lake. Often, garbage trucks from Bengaluru come here to dump waste.
Fakirappa, a resident of Kathegaanahalli comes to Byramangala Lake to cut the grass grown on the lake bed. “I have two cows and do not own any land. I take grass from here and feed to my cows,’’ he says, oblivious to the fact that the chemicals from the lake are ingested by his cows, the milk of which is supplied to the co-operative society, which, in turn, is supplied to Bengaluru. There is also land belonging to the Horticulture, Fisheries and Minor Irrigation Departments next to the lake. There is fisheries on the other side of the lake.
SKIN INFECTIONS
Except for drinking, the same lake water is used for agriculture purpose in all the 28 villages. With regular use of the water, people are developing skin infections. Nagarathna, who lives near Byramangala Lake, is in her late 20s, but looks much older. There are black marks on her feet. “I cannot sleep during night. My feet itch and it also gets painful,’’ says Nagarathna who spends five-six hours a day getting grass from the lakeside where she has contracted the infection. At least 40% of people living in the lake’s vicinity suffer from similar infection. The couple Sundaramma and Kariyappa of Chowkahalli spend close to Rs 1,000 per month buying medicines for the infection.
“The doctor says if we do not work in the field and have no water contact, it can be cured. If we do not work, how will we lead our life?’’ another resident Kariyappa questions. They buy ointment and apply it every day on the infected parts. The villagers buy water from private tankers. But the borewell water is not fit to drink either. “There was a time when we used to drink water from the naala directly. The naala water was so transparent and clean,’’ another villager Lokappa says. There is just one primary health centre at Byramanagala where people from in and around come, most of them for skin infections. Medical Officer Dr Raju V says skin allergy and infection is so common here.
There are 13,000 people in the 28 villages and many of them have infection. Some common infections are Dermatitis (skin disease caused by itchiness, red skin and rashes), some have small blisters, and skin even becomes thickened, skin infection which spread gradually across the body. “There are some who suffer from asthma; the chemical content in the water could be one of the reasons for it,” he says. Dr Raju made an observation and said: “Most people in these villages are farmers who work in the fields with good physical activity. They eat just two meals a day, and there is no junk food. In spite of this, people in their late 20s and 30s suffer from diabetes, which is strange.’’