Tackle illegal dumping of garbage on lake bund, say residents

Even as the Bengaluru Urban district administration is carrying out an anti-encroachment drive at Sarakki Lake, another issue which needs to be dealt with by the authorities immediately is the dumping of garbage at the vast waterbody, residents and lake activists have said.

The residents complained that about 10-15 Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) trucks unload the garbage at the lake bund during morning hours every day. While this is not the end, lorries carrying construction debris too enter the lake, they added.

"The unloading of garbage and sorting out the waste are taking place since two to three years. They segregate and dump the unwanted things at the lake bund itself. We have raised this issue with the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) and the Palike’s higher officials. But none of them are interested in solving the problem. Since fencing of the lake is incomplete, miscreants easily snug inside," a member from Sarakki Lake Area Improvement Trust said.

Kshitij Urs, one of the leaders of the People's Campaign for Right to Water, said the organisation has filed a public interest petition at High Court about the illegal garbage dumping. He added: “The garbage was being thrown directly into the lake earlier. Now, the builders and miscreants make their way through the breached fence and dump (the garbage).”

Retired High Court judge Michael F Saldanha said the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has powers to prosecute the people who pollute or dump the garbage into the lakes. But the KSPCB is not exercising its authority to deal with the issue, he added.

“Dumping the litter at waterbodies is against the Environment Pollution Law and is a crime. BBMP can find alternative venues for unloading and segregating the waste,” Justice Saldanha said.  Also on the same radar are other lakes such as Kacharakanahalli lake, Begur lake, Rampura lake, Subramanyapura lake and others where authorised dumping has become rampant.

BBMP Joint Commissioner (Health) Yathish Kumar said they will issue a circular stating that garbage should not be dumped into or near the water bodies. He added that it is the duty of the Zonal Joint Commissioners to take action against those who pollute the lakes.