BENGALURU: Residents and morning walkers of Singasandra ward were in for a shock on Tuesday, when they found ash across an acre of land around Hosa Lake, also called as Dodda Kudlu lake.
Locals allege that the lake is not being maintained properly, after it was taken over by the BBMP. Earlier, an NGO was maintaining it and they were ensuring there were no such incidents, the locals accused.
Rashmi Nangia, a resident, said garbage dumping is a major problem near the lake, especially with the area lacking fencing. Even as many complaints are raised in the ward committee meetings, little has been done. At every complaint, the marshals come and inspect the area.
Some locals also said that a similar incident of garbage burning had occurred three days back in the same lake, and even then the BBMP officials did not take any action. Earlier, when TNIE contacted BBMP officials, they stated that the fire started from a vacant site near an apartment complex, but later as the day progressed they mentioned that someone from a nearby slum had thrown a burning cigarette butt on dry leaves, which caught fire. “By the time staffers and workers could bring water, the flames spread, gutting an acre of land late on Monday night. Nothing has happened to the lake,” they added.
As the Forest and Lakes Division in the BBMP head office have sought for a detailed report on the incident, locals questioned how permission was given for setting up a garbage dump yard and a waste segregation unit on the lake bed. They pointed out that these centres should be set up on vacant government lands and lake buffer zones should be well protected.