First garbage, now dead fish cover Kommaghatta Lake
BENGALURU: Once a paradise for walkers and joggers, Kommaghatta Lake in Kengeri now has thousands of dead fish floating on its 34-acre surface. On Friday morning, residents woke up to a foul stench emanating from the lake, which is located off Mysuru Road. On checking, they were shocked to see the lake surface coated with dead fish.
Residents of Sir M Visvesvaraya Layout (Sir MV Layout) say inflow of sewage and chemicals into the lake could have caused the death of the fish. “This was once a beautiful freshwater lake, and hundreds of people would visit it. Gradually, the lake started to worsen with sewage and garbage being dumped. There was also no one to look after the lake,” said Sanjeev Kumar, a resident of the layout. He claims that the BDA, and the Sulikere Gram Panchayat — under the jurisdiction the lake falls — are passing the buck on who the lake’s custodians are.
“It was the BDA who developed the layout and adopted the lake. However, when complaints were made to the BDA, they said the panchayat had taken over,” Sanjeev added. A panchayat member who did not want to be named told The New Indian Express, “The whole locality is stinking. We are trying to clear the dead fish and barricade the area.” He blamed the BDA for the situation. “Five years ago, Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) handed over the lake to us. However, while building the layout, they did not provide separate sewage lines, because of which sewage is entering the lake. They should divert the sewage lines,” he said.
Another resident Vijay T said, “During the past two months, it has become difficult for residents to even breathe because of the intolerable stench. We cannot open our doors and windows.” When a similar incident — though on a smaller scale — occurred in 2018, residents and panchayat officials used limestone and alum to reduce contamination. But the stench soon returned. BDA officials could not be reached despite several attempts.