When Bellandur lake turned one big lather pool

The frothing at Bellandur lake near the Ammanikere waste-weir continued on Sunday and aggravated towards the evening following a heavy downpour.

The residents in the lake vicinity, complained that with foam spilling onto the road they are finding it tough to walk or drive the vehicles.

Former president of Bellandur Gram Panchayat K Jagannath said, “The froth is causing hardship to the commuters, who are using Bellandur Tank Bund Road to reach Marathahalli, Yemalur, Indiranagar and other surrounding areas.

The aggrieved residents said that a couple of months back, effective microorganism (EM) solution was sprayed into the lake to curb the frothing problem. But it didn’t yield the desired results. They added that though the treatment plant near Bellandur lake is operational, it is below the required capacity.

  “The frothing process is going on for more than five years, now. The stench is unbearable and many people in our locality and Yemalur are falling sick,” rues, Ramesh Shivaram, a  resident of  Bellandur. 

Jagannath, who had approached State Legal Services Authority over the contamination of Bellandur lake, said that more than 20 villages in and around the water body such as Kempapura, Munnekolala, Kariyammana Agrahara, Panathur among others are affected badly.

“The borewells have been polluted as well. We are planning to hold protests and meet Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Health officials in the coming days to highlight the problem. Since the froth contains deadly chemicals, people, in contact with it, suffer from skin diseases and vehicles are also damaged," he added.

Meanwhile, Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (Koramanagala 1 and 2, Bellandur Division) Engineer Naveen said that the BWSSB officials will visit the water body on Monday.