Bellandur Lake prepped for desilting

The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) has begun the desilting of the Bellandur lake by building temporary diversion channels to drain water from the lake downstream.

They have built a channel on either side of the lake’s sluice gate mechanism, each about two metres deep and six-seven feet wide.

“The channel building, which is part of the desilting process, is progressing near the Doddamma Devi temple. This’ll help in draining the lake and ensuring water for farmers,” Varthur lake warden Jagadish Reddy said.

TV Ramachandra, a scientist from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and member of the National Green Tribunal (NGT)-appointed committee to oversee rejuvenation of Bellandur and Varthur lakes, said the waterbody has been drained 70%.

After the draining, the silt will be tested on several parameters for its quality. If it satisfies different optimal qualitative parameters, it will be distributed to farmers after filtering.

While farmers in the vicinity may get water channelled out of the lake for irrigation, they will still have to bear the contamination as they have done for several years. This might change if the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) builds a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) by 2020.

Building diversion channels has just begun in Varthur and the lake will soon be drained. Ramachandra said the process to rejuvenate the lakes would take nearly 15 months. He hopes farmers will get water without contamination in two years time.