Bengaluru, July 23 :: The lakes that were once the lifeblood of the villages around Bengaluru have now been trampled by human encroachment as the city has grown. The stench of some lakes has spread for several kilometers.
Amidst the confusion over whether the lakes have shrunk due to the smell of humans or humans have shrunk due to the smell of the lakes, the lakes and the lives of humans have become unhealthy due to the greed of humans who are destroying the traces of the existence of lakes.
The standing committee formed by the state government, which is committed to the construction of new such lakes, today visited various lakes on the outskirts of the city and conducted an observation.
The inspection team of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly’s Committee of Local Bodies and Panchayat Raj Institutions for the protected lakes and wastewater treatment plants of Bengaluru city met today in room number 106 of the Vidhana Soudha and held a preliminary meeting on the condition of the lakes to be visited today and then went to observe the lakes.
Led by Shivaji Nagar MLA and Chairman of the Standing Committee Rizwan Arshad, the team comprising committee members and MLAs Ravisubrahmanya, Harish Poonja, Venkatasiva Reddy, Legislative Council members Govindaraju and Smt. Sasikala Jolle first visited the Ele Mallappa Shetty Lake in Medahalli. After checking the facts there, it was found that 9.5 km. of fencing has already been put up, and another 4.5 km. Due to the pending issue, the relevant officials at the site were given a deadline of 10 days to mark the lake with the help of the police and put up a fence.
The chairman asked for details about the private layout adjacent to the lake turning the lake area into a road and instructed to discuss it with the BDA soon. On this occasion, he also visited and inspected the waste water treatment plant near Ele Mallappa Chettikere, built by the Bangalore Water Supply and Drainage Board near the lake. He instructed the officials to take necessary steps to clear encroachments and upgrade the water treatment plant to a higher capacity.
Then, the team that visited Varthur Lake for the second time was informed that steps have been taken to prevent sewage water from entering the lake and that security has been provided around the lake. Steps have been taken to ensure that only rainwater enters the lake, there is no encroachment, and that talks have been held to transfer the management of the lake to the BBMP and it will be transferred soon, BDA officials informed.
On this occasion, the President, who took a dig at the officials concerned regarding the cleanliness around the lake, instructed BDA Chief Engineer Dr. Shantharajanna to convene a meeting involving BDA, BBMP, Revenue and all departments related to lakes at the earliest and take action to treat waste water in a good quality.
He said that the concerned departments should periodically check to what extent the water used by the thousands of apartments that have sprung up in the areas around the lake is being treated and where it is being discharged.
The committee, which received opinions from the public present on the condition of the lake, listened to all the problems and instructed the concerned departments to take remedial action.
He said that the fact that the condition of the lakes in Bangalore has not changed despite hundreds of crores being spent by the government every year is a reflection of the system.
Thirdly, the President, who visited the Bellandur Lake and was impressed by its vastness, said that the vast lake in the middle of the city is the property of Bengaluru, it is our responsibility to maintain it, we should get inflow information and scientifically identify other problems to maintain water cleanliness and find solutions as soon as possible and develop the lake.
The department should submit a demand file for approval in the upcoming cabinet meeting for the establishment of a large wastewater treatment plant, already. 80% of the silt has been removed, the development work undertaken by the BDA should be completed by next year, BBMP and Bangalore Water Board should monitor the lake to ensure that it is not encroached upon and that waste is not dumped.
Fourthly, the team that visited the Agar Lake expressed its appreciation for the development of the lake and received complaints from the public present at the place. On this occasion, at the insistence of local MLA Satish Reddy, they also inspected the Agar Waste Water Treatment Plant.
BBMP Special Commissioner Karigowda and Small Irrigation Joint Secretary Pavithra were present along with the committee members and senior officials who travelled in two special BMTC buses.
