The cause for the fire on Bellandur Lake, one of the worst in recent months, remains a mystery. While residents blame reckless garbage burning, officials believe that it was sparked by “chemically active sludge”, but are yet to conduct tests to verify their hypothesis.
On Thursday night, residents watched as the fire blazed and smoke billowed from the lake.
Lakshman, chairman of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, who visited the spot on Friday morning, said that a technical team had prima facie suspected that the fire was triggered due to a chemical reaction in the sludge, which may have released combustible methane gas in excess.
“The hyacinth over the sludge was dry and caught fire. The spot where the fire broke out was limited to an ‘island’ of about 200 ft. in the lake away from the bund. It’s ring-like formation indicates a chemical reaction,” he said.
Residents told The Hindu that over the past few months the lake-bed was being used to burn garbage illegally. It’s becoming a daily affair, said Seema Sharma, a resident of Mantri Espana apartment near the lake.
“When we alert the fire control room, we’re told that they cannot come to the area as there has been no damage to life or property. But Thursday was massive enough to attract attention,” she said.
