BENGALURU: Days after the National Green Tribunal came down heavily against the state government for the massive fire at Bellandur Lake, it set a five day deadline for civic authorities, saying that the vast waterbody must be cleared of all effluents, silt and sewage by Monday.
BDA Commissioner Mr Rakesh Singh who appeared before the tribunal on Thursday put forward the civic body's view that the fire at the lake was the work of vandals who had deliberately set fire to the grass.
He was however confronted with pictures of the froth in the lake catching fire, and with earlier reports where the state had itself submitted that fire was set off by harmful effluents in the form of untreated sewage that was discharged into the lakes.
The Tribunal directed the state to begin removing silt, block entry points of sewage, clean up the lake and upgrade STPs by Monday. The matter has been adjourned for further hearing to January 29.
