They ran from the Outer Ring Road to the banks of the lake, covering three km. The lake, that once served as a source of water for the villagers has now been reduced to a sewage dumping yard.
Participating in the event, Jagannath, former Bellandur Panchayat president recalled that Bellandur lake was a beautiful lake in his childhood days. "We used to swim in it, and used its water for drinking and irrigation. But now, it has been ruined completely, and nothing has been done to restore it," he said.
Many villagers from Yamalur, a village on the lake bank also echoed their sentiments of a once-beautiful lake in their neighbourhood. The lake, which was famous for its fish stock, is now a breeding place of mosquitoes. Jagannath, Ramamurthi, an environmentalist, have been fighting to save this lake in the High Court. The the court has directed the government to clean up the lake and to prevent discharge of untreated sewage into the water body.
"Despite efforts made in the court, nothing really has changed in this lake. Even today, it receives more untreated sewage than ever before. Only a small portion is being treated which is just an eyewash. It is shameful that even a court verdict is being thrown to the winds," said Ramamurthi.
The lake, spread over 950 acres is the largest in East Bangalore and has been a victim of pollution with the inflow of untreated sewage water into the lake. The total volume of sewage entering the lake directly is estimated at 500 million litres daily, roughly around four bucket loads of sewage from each of the eight million citizens of Bangalore.
Industrial effluent discharged into the lake and encroachments of the wetlands have also contributed to the present state of the lake. The water is contaminated with high concentrates of lead, cadmium and chromium. There is also a serious threat to health since a large amount of contaminated water seeps into ground water.
Farmers also use this water for irrigation of vegetable plantations in the downstream areas of the lake. Only a tiny fraction of the sewage is being treated at present.