Hours after local residents filed a complaint with BBMP Commissioner N Manjunath Prasad against the construction of an "illegal" road through the Pattandur Agrahara lakebed on Saturday, a severe fire broke out in a garbage dump close to the waterbody.
A fire tender was rushed from the Whitefield fire station to douse the blaze that broke out in a pile of garbage dumped in the lakebed. "The fire was worse than last year's but thanks to our vigilance and a quick response from firefighters, the flames were put out quickly," a resident said on the condition of anonymity.
Another resident said the fire showed a callous disregard for the precious ecosystem in Whitefield's oldest area, where illegal construction was going on unchecked. "Mixed garbage that emits toxic fumes is freely burnt next to whatever water remains in the depleted lake," the resident added.
In their complaint, residents called the construction of the road a clear violation of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) orders on maintaining a buffer zone around lakes and drains.
Sandeep Anirudhan, a volunteer with Whitefield Rising, a group of citizen activists, said the BBMP commissioner had ordered an immediate halt to the work until details of the violations were clarified. "The commissioner confirmed that no work can be carried out in the lakebed or buffer zones of lakes and stormwater drains," Anirudhan added.