Dead fish in Whitefield lake raise a stink

Hundreds of dead fish are floating in the Sheelavantanakere lake at Nallurahalli in the heart of Whitefield. And the number is increasing by the day, according to residents.

Fishermen have cleared several quintals of dead fish in three days. Residents and frequent walkers across the lake say they have been witnessing this phenomenon for the last four days.

The lake is developed and maintained by a private company and a non-governmental organisation. The water body has so far been a paradise for morning/evening walkers as well as children, as there is a play area there.

The residents say fishing activity has been going on in the lake for some years now and that the incident is a first.

They also complain that of late, the lake has been witnessing waste and sewage inflows from three main gutters — especially from Nallurahalli side as one of the sewage pipelines has been blocked, pushing polluted water into the lake.

“The unbearable stench from the lake is a deterrent to walkers. The plastic and muck floating all over makes it a repulsive sight,” says a resident.

“There are plenty of apartment complexes and villas around the area. Some of them do not have sewage treatment plants and they let out untreated water into the lake. There are also several slums in the buffer zone of the lake which might dump waste in and around the lake,” says Naveen Uthappa, another resident.

Jagannath Rao T, Divisional Forest Officer, claimed that only a few fish have died. “This may have been caused by the sewage inflow into the lake. We have cleared the floating fish. This is happening for the first time and we will find out the exact reason,” he said.