Bellandur Lake froths, foam looks more toxic than before

The Bellandur Lake began frothing again after a heavy downpour on Thursday night, spewing thick foam around its peripheral areas and spreading fear of further deterioration during the forthcoming monsoon.

Residents said the froth this time was a thick brew of synthetic nylon texture filled with a discernible black strand. "It wasn't the normal kind of foam," a resident told DH, adding that it was not evaporating unlike in the past.

Resident Shalini Batra said the lake was spewing foam out of the fence on the Bellandur side. No foaming was seen on the Varthur side, where the Bangalore Development Authority had drained the lake to fix the sluice gates.

Things would only get worse with the intensifying rainfall during the monsoon, said Shonali Sing, a local resident and member of the Citizen Watch Group. "It won't be long before history starts repeating itself," she said, referring to the situation in the past when cars parked on the roadside were coated with the foam sprayed by the lake.

Even the sprinklers installed by the Palike, as pointed out by some residents, are of no use as they are soaked in the toxic foam and malfunctioned.

Dismayed by the lack of improvement in the lake's condition despite efforts by the authority, residents urged the government to speed up the process of installing the sewage treatment plants.