Pre-monsoon rain for the last one week in Bengaluru has made Bengaluru’s Varthur Lake froth more than usual and the toxic foam has been flying on to the road nearby, hitting vehicles and people in their faces.
The heavy showers that lashed the city in the past week have resulted in Varthur Lake foaming again. With toxic foam spilling over to the Whitefield Main Road, commuters had a tough time negotiating traffic on Saturday and Sunday.
Pravir B, a member of the citizen group Whitefield Rising, said that the wired mesh erected on the boundary of the lake that runs along Whitefield Main Road had kept the foam from entering the streets till the rain aggravated the condition.
“We noticed froth on the road on Saturday morning. There’s a mesh on one side of the road, where the foam has not escaped. But, the heavy winds resulted in foam getting blown from the other side of the lake and entering the road, disrupting traffic. In fact, the foam is entering helmets, and coming in contact with the skin,” he added.
The unbearable stench emanating from the lake has only added to the woes of commuters and residents. “The froth has also reached a hospital and a mall nearby,” said residents.
The city scientists have said the increased inflow of water to the lake – which happens every time it rains — is responsible for fresh froth.
Last Friday, the Karnataka government carried out a meeting to chalk out a roadmap to clean up the lake. But officials said the plan is likely to be implemented only after the government finishes work on the upstream Bellandur lake.
The state is racing against time to clean up the lake , a job for which the National Green Tribunal has allotted it a month. The state has said the time given is inadequate and the Rs. 3.35 crore-project ,cleaning the lake of weeds may take longer.
Earlier this month, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had visited Bellandur,located in the south-east part of the city to take stock of the cleaning process.
Froth regularly appears at the city two largest lakes – Bellandur and Varthur over the last decade. But the matter started making headlines after flying froth covered the roads two years ago. Environmentalists have blamed the practice of dumping untreated sewage and pollutants in the lakes that have been going on for years.
The state government has sought help from foreign experts and some from Britain and Israel visited Bellandur lake. In February, the lake, nearly 900 acres large, was covered with a fire, shooting streams of smoke into the sky and blinding drivers who pulled over to avoid accidents. The firefighters summoned were amazed at the scale of the fire, which raged for nearly eight hours, on a body of water.
The authorities say they will set up more sewage treatment plants at the lake. Security cameras have also been installed to identify anyone dumping waste. The miscreants will be fined Rs. 5 lakhs, the state government has said.
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