Stench goes as BBMP clears dead fish

The BBMP on Saturday fixed the garbage blocking the sewage diversion pipes that caused the death of thousands of fish in the Sheelavantanakere lake in Whitefield.

The civic body cleared up most of the dead fish floating in the water, relieving the local residents of the stench. Residents are unaware that the irregular garbage dumping by them choked the sewage pipe and killed the fish in the lake.

The lake, located at the heart of Whitefield, has been in the news for the past four days over the fishes dying due to sewage contamination. Morning and evening walkers noticed the floating fishes and alerted the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), prompting the civic body to clear the sewage line.

“The lake has been getting sewage inflows from three main gutters,” said BBMP engineer Shilpa Karthik.

“The inflow happened especially from the Nallurahalli side, since one of the sewage lines was blocked. We deployed a jetting machine and cleared the block. The sewage has been diverted from the lake,” she added.

She said the civic body has removed the dead fishes and the work will be completed by Sunday.

Civic officials said the problem goes back to the time before the rains. “Fishermen open the sewage inlets and allow the polluted water, since the lake (before monsoon) would be nearly dry,” said a BBMP official.

“While they fill the lake for the fish to survive, they don’t understand that sewage harms the aquatic life. This has mostly been the case. We’ve also written to the fishery department (about the issue),” the official revealed.

He said fishes had also perished in Kasavanahalli, Munnekollalu and Haralur lakes as fishermen allowed sewage into the water body.

Before Sheelavantanakere lake, fishes died in Kasavanahalli in Mahadevapura due to deliberate letting of polluted water, said the official.