BENGALURU: Tonnes of dead fish have been found floating on the banks of Sheelavanthakere Lake in Whitefield since Sunday. Residents and walkers said it could be due to raw sewage entering the lake from the Nallurahalli side, following rain last week. The lake is now stinking, they complained.
Officials from the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), Lakes division, said the mass fish kill is because of depletion of dissolved oxygen (DO) levels in the polluted lake.
The officials said they have sent a proposal to the government to install a 1.25-metre diameter diversion pipe at the lake to stop sewage from flowing in. They are waiting for approval.
Walkers said sewage flooding the lake was reported earlier too, but the BBMP lakes division has not developed the water body. “The officials keep saying they have sent proposals but they never follow up. It appears that there is no coordination between BBMP and BWSSB,” said Rajashekhar Reddy, a resident of Nallurahalli, who is a regular walker at the lake.
Echoing it, Nallurahalli Nagesh, a Congress leader, alleged that water bodies in the Mahadevapura zone need immediate attention. “The present and previous MLAs have not done any development and opposition leaders in the area are keeping mum. That is the reason officials do not respond to citizens when such complaints are raised,” he said.
BBMP Assistant Engineer (Lakes division) Sapna NK said workers have been deployed to clear the dead fish, dispose them of scientifically and clean the sludge. “Efforts are on to improve the DO level in water. The long-term solution will be to install a 1.25-metre diameter, 700-metre-long pipe along the lake at the inlet from the Nallurahalli side. Once the proposal is passed, a work order will be issued and will be taken up on priority,” she said.