JOIN USBellandur lake now froths less than it did a few days ago. That’s because 26 sprinklers are working round the clock in the 910-acre water body.
The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), which is the custodian of the lake, installed 10 sprinklers on Sunday, two days before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) takes up another hearing over the city’s largest water body. BDA officials insisted that the sprinklers were installed as the lake started frothing again following heavy rainfall over the past few days.
A team of BDA engineers and experts was at the lake to ensure that the foam does not fly out of the mesh. “We have installed more sprinklers to control the frothing. Sixteen were installed earlier and we have added 10 more. Three more will come on Monday,” P N Nayak, Engineer Member, BDA, told DH. “This is a short-term measure. We are also undertaking medium- and long-term measures.”
The decision to instal more high-speed sprinklers was taken by a team of engineers that visited the lake on Saturday. “The frothing has come down by as much as 80%. The sprinklers will work at night, too,” he said.
This apart, the BDA has invited Gitanjali Envirotech, a Mumbai-based company, to take up bioremediation in the lake. Bioremediation is a waste management technique that involves the use of organisms to neutralise pollutants from a contaminated site.
Ragini Jain, of Gitanjali Envirotech, said the cultural process of introducing organic enzymes had started but results would come in some time. “Our aim is to check the formation of further foam. But presently, it’s important to settle the existing one,” she said. Still, there is a visible reduction in frothing, she added.
Citing the example of cancer, she said therapies take time. One cannot expect the patient to recover immediately after s/he has been taken off the ventilator.
The BDA has invited engineers and experts to give a demonstration of introducing aerators in the lake to control frothing. It has also urged local residents to let only treated water into sewage lines so that it gets easier to rejuvenate the lake.
DH News Service