BBMP disregards KLCDA diktat, dumps garbage in lakebed

Heaps of garbage brought from different parts of the city were set on fire in the Subramanyapura lakebed on Wednesday and Thursday.

The incident happened the very day the Karnataka Lake Conservation and Development Authority (KLCDA) published a public notice in newspapers, warning people and industries against dumping any kind of waste in any lake or its buffer zone in Bengaluru. Anybody found dumping waste or debris will be fined Rs 5 lakh on each occasion, the notice said. The KLCDA had published a similar notice earlier but that did not deter garbage contractors.

On Wednesday morning, a garbage truck and a three-wheeler waste collector were unloaded on the Subramanyapura lakebed.

H M Shiva Prasad, president, BHCS Layout Residents’ Welfare Association, said the dumping of waste was causing nuisance in the area. “The lake is already polluted because of sewage being let into it. Now, the BBMP has turned the lakebed into a garbage segregation point. This is utter callousness. We filed several complaints to the competent authorities but there was no response,” he said.

Uttarahalli corporator Hanumanthaiah conceded that waste is being dumped in the lakebed and that it is hassling the residents. “It will not be appropriate if I say I am not aware of it. Give me two to three days, I will set things right,” he said.

G Vidyasagar, CEO, KLCDA, and Lakshman, the chairman of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, could not be reached for comment.