The waste weir of Varthur lake breached once again on Thursday, the second time in just one-and-half months.
According to the lake custodians, there was a lot of pressure on the weir owing to ongoing work on the construction of a new bridge connecting Varthur Kodi and Sarjapur. That apart, the Department of Minor Irrigation is also constructing a pipeline inside the lake to carry water from the Koramangala-Challaghatta Valley to Kolar.
According to a source in Whitefield Rising, department officials had, during one of the meetings with BDA officials and lake custodians, assured them that the debris and muck from the lake-bed would be removed by November. “However, they have not done anything.”
According to Whitefield Rising members, the BDA had placed sand bags as a “temporary fix”. They said that though the BDA claimed to have floated tenders for the re-construction of the weirs, the officials were not forthcoming with any information about the same.
BDA officials were not available for comment.
BBMP’s chief engineer (major works) S. Somashekhar told The Hindu that as the foundation work on the new bridge was ongoing, the contractor executing the project had blocked the water from flowing out of one of the weirs. This built up pressure on the other weir and some sand bags were washed away. “The contractor has now been instructed to open up the other weir partially. We have also fixed the breached portion of the other weir,” he said.
