Bengaluru: Bellandur and Varthur lake waters are poisonous, infused with industrial effluents and untreated sewage. But what should worry people is that vast stretches of farmlands around the two infamous lakes, where vegetables are grown, are irrigated by this poison water.
The "fresh" vegetables from these areas, supplied to the city, are filled with heavy metals like copper, cadmium and zinc. They can lead to health hazards, including kidney failure, warns water expert and lead scientist at IISC T.V. Ramachandra.
He told Deccan Chronicle, "In areas around Bellandur and Varthur, we can see farmlands irrigated with sewage-fed water. The danger is that we cannot differentiate such produce from normal ones. As they are fed with sewage and industrial pollutants, they are full of copper, cadmium, zinc and other heavy metals. These heavy metals when they enter our body can lead to life-threatening diseases, like kidney failure, digestive disorders and even cancer."
Apart from veggies, Mr Ramachandra said that cows are fed with grass and fodder (aquatic plants) grown from the same sewage water which again pollutes milk yields.
"Many consumers do not know how the veggies are irrigated. Even the vendors, for the fear of losing their business, hide this fact," he said. The borewells located around these two infamous lakes too are suspected to have high nitrate content, which is not good for health, he warned.
He urged the civic bodies to rejuvenate the lakes as soon as possible. He suggested that the successful Jakkur model can be replicated to revive dying Bellandur and Varthur lakes.
