Filled with toxic weeds and fanning out unbearable stench, the Halasuru Lake in the heart of Bengaluru was no less than a battlefield on Wednesday morning.
Entering the choppy waters barehanded, hundreds of Sappers from the Madras Engineering Group (MEG) of the Indian Army cleaned the water body on a war footing.
Unable to withstand a beautiful lake dying right in front of their eyes, more than hundred Sappers (thambis) slogged for over eight hours since the dawn and cleansed the lake.
By afternoon their collective effort resulted in the removal of more than
a whopping 100 tonnes of water hyacinth, toxic weed and garbage.
The Sappers had cleaned the lake in April-May this year and pulled out about 70 tonnes of weeds and garbage. However, this time the quantity of weeds and garbage has increased considerably. Sources at MEG revealed that the weeds and pollutants had flowed into the lake from the BBMP sediment tank.
“Over the years, the lakes of Bangalore have deteriorated due to increasing sewage being drained into the lakes by the surging population. Moreover, the water hyacinth also keeps flowing into the lakes and choking their breathing life.
“Ulsoor lake however has survived this calamity for the past several decades due to the incessant efforts put in by the Sappers of Madras Engineers Group and Centre. To tide over these problems, MEG has been repeatedly undertaking cleanliness drives in the lake regularly,” an official release from the Defence ministry stated.
Halasuru Lake, located in the heart of Bengaluru, is a part of the daily life of Madras Sappers and is used daily for training purposes.
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