The foaming at Bellandur Amanikere has stopped. But residents of the area continue to suffer. This time it is the stench from the sewage and garbage in the lake that is inconveniencing them.
According to Ventakesh M., Yamlur resident, the foaming stopped after the waste weir of the lake was closed. “While we are grateful that there is no foam now, the stench from the lake is unbearable. The silt has to be cleared first, which will allow free flow of water,” he said, and added that none of the authorities concerned had come back to the spot to address this issue.
He claimed that the spraying taken up to control the foam had helped, albeit a little. He also said authorities must first clear the encroachments on the ‘raja kaluve’ that connects Bellandur Amanikere to Varthur lake.
Karnataka State Pollution Control Board has already directed Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board to ensure sewage and industrial effluents are not let into the lake. The 919-acre lake has been handed over to Bangalore Development Authority for rejuvenation. But, BDA officials claim that they can take up development work only after the BWSSB prevents sewage entry into the lake.
BWSSB officials told The Hindu they were in the process of setting up a sewage treatment plant of 90 mld (million litres per day) capacity at a cost of Rs. 230 crore at Amanikere, besides upgrading the 308 mld treatment facility in the upstream of Bellandur lake at Rs. 135 crore.
However, both these facilities are likely to be ready only by June 2016.
Spraying taken up
to control the foam
had helped to some extent, a resident said
