Bellandur Lake: Froth, heavy stench make residents flee

Monil JR, a resident, laments, “We have been informed by a BWSSB official that if at all they start tackling this problem, it will take then at least five years. It is impossible to live on this toxic land any more. We have been living with this problem for the last two years, and we’ve had enough.”

As a palliative measure, residents say the authorities have constructed fencing, which might prevent the froth and foam from the contaminated lake from spilling on to the road. But they say if there’s a heavy shower, the foamy water might start entering people’s houses. Before anything of this sort happens, we are looking to shift to a new place.”

He laments, “It is unfortunate that this property came to my father during a partition of the property. His other brothers are all living peacefully at Outer Ring Road.” There are many like Monil who want to move out of this locality.

Anamoy Talukdar, who is an engineer by profession and works at IT Park in Bellandur, says, “I took a rented house here as my office is here and also the rent amount is considerably lower in comparison to other places. I assumed since I would be coming here only at night, that I would not be affected much by the smell and the polluted lake. But now it is becoming difficult, especially during the rains. I am searching for a new house now at a different location.”

For many, this is not so easy. Rajat Kumar, another resident, says, “We cannot afford to leave our place and shift somewhere else, after all this is our own house and we built it with a lot of difficulty. So now we have no option but to stick it out and bear the brunt.” Kabir Das, a resident says, “Nothing has changed in the last five years. We have been infected with skin ailments, asthma and wheezing problems. But does anyone care?”

Bellandur Lake, once a beautiful green paradise, has turned into a hub of toxic froth. Untreated sewage from apartments and industries has been flowing into the lake, primarily from HAL, Domlur, Kormangala and Agara. Currently, the authorities have fenced the entire lake and installed about 4-6 machines near the lake to spray a chemical which the civic agency claims is part of Japanese Technology and is supposed to reduce the smell and the froth. But it has been of little help, claim residents.

BWSSB Chairperson Vijay Bhaskar had earlier said, “The estimated sewage entering into the lake is 600 mld. Actually it will be around 800 mld. We have an STP treating 305 mld. A STP of 150 mld capacity is under construction. Another 100 mld has been approved by the government, we are waiting only for the formal order. We have proposed another 190 capacity mld STP to the government. If approved, it will take another four years to be completed. This should solve the problem of pollution in the lake.”