Dumping and burning of solid waste on the bund of Bogadi Lake near Vijayanagar III Stage has been going on for a while, with the authorities not taking any action despite repeated complaints from the public. In fact, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) had taken note of the problem earlier this year after an inspection of the lake by an officer from the board. The officer had asked Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) to take corrective steps such as scientific handling of waste and identifying the construction and building debris dumped around the lake.
Bogadi Lake is among the last remaining lakes of the city and is almost on the verge of disappearance in the absence of freshwater flow and continuous dumping of waste. The Hin had carried a report on the burning of solid waste around the lake and about how it has unnerved locals.
After the inspection, KSPCB’s senior environment officer, in a letter to the then MUDA Commissioner in January this year, had sought action for ending the menace of solid waste being dumped around the lake. The officer had stated that steps would be taken under the Environment Protection Act, 1986, if no action was taken by the authorities concerned.
However, even after 10 months, the dumping and burning of waste continues around the lake. Copies of the KSPCB letter had been marked to the Deputy Commissioner of Mysuru and the member-secretary of KSPCB.
In the letter, the officer who inspected the lake had observed that plastic and animal waste were found dumped near the lake, besides construction debris unloaded along the ring road closer to the lake and also on the lake bund. The plastic and other waste were found to be regularly set on fire.
Also, sewage from nearby areas was also found to be let into the lake through the storm-water drain, in the absence of a proper drainage system. The officer had noted that the pollution was threatening the existence of some birds flocking to the lake.
Bogadi Lake and its surroundings come under MUDA limits and, therefore, the city corporation does not left waste from the locality.
MUDA chief’s response
MUDA on Friday said it would ask its environment engineers to look into the matter and take action.
“The issue of waste dumping and burning had not come to my notice. But I will look into it. MUDA has entrusted an agency for collection and disposal of solid waste in Vijayanagar III and IV Stages. The waste collected is transported to the Mysuru City Corporation’s Sewage Farm. We don’t know who is dumping waste around the lake,” MUDA Commissioner P.S. Kantharaj told The Hindu .
“It is the job of the MCC to handle waste, but MUDA, on its own, has been collecting trash in the two localities for scientific disposal. There is a problem with solid waste handling beyond the Outer Ring Road. The authorities are working out a solution since it is not confined to one particular area,” he said.
