Fish die as polluted water enters Dorekere lake

Heavy inflow of highly contaminated water from the adjoining stormwater drain into the historic Dorekere lake near Uttarahalli due to torrential rain on Thursday night resulted in large-scale fishkill.

Morning walkers of BHCS Layout and adjoining areas were in for a rude shock on Friday morning when they noticed dead fish floating in the lake. Due to the fishkill and the contamination of water, the lake was stinking.

The watchman of the lake immediately alerted the engineers in the BBMP Lake Division and the former Uttarahalli corporator K Ramesh Raju. Quick measures were taken to clear the lake of the dead fish. Yet, it could not be done till late in the evening.

A morning walker, B V Mahesh, said this was the fifth time that the fishkill had happened in Dorekere. Whenever there is heavy rainfall, the adjoining SWD gets flooded and its dirty water gushes into the lake.

An engineer in the BBMP lake division denied any fishkill at Dorekere.He said some fish keep dying but that did not fall into the category of fishkill, he added.The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board chairman Vaman Acharya expressed his shock and dismay over the fishkill.

He said he had come to know about the incident only from this reporter. “It is not only saddening but also a crime. Fishkill should not happen at any cost. If sewage is flowing near the lake, then the BWSSB should take note of it and make separate arrangements for it,” said Acharya.

He said he had directed an environment officer to visit the place and submit a detailed status report.During the monsoon last year, some land grabbers, who had encroached upon the Gowdanapalya tank, broke its waste-weir to reduce the rising water level that had threatened to submerge their houses.

The highly contaminated water of the tank overflowed and entered Dorekere, leading to the death of about 5,000 fish. Despite damaging the tank-bund, the encroachers continue to enjoy a ‘property’ inside the Gowdanapalya tank bed. The last year fishkill had forced the then Mayor B S Sathyanarayana to visit the area.