Chalkere Lake sixth to report fishkill in a month

Close to 50 fish were found dead at Chalkere Lake near the Outer Ring Road (ORR) on Wednesday, causing concern among regular walkers.

This is the sixth waterbody to experience major fish kill, attributed to sudden influx of sewage.

When DH visited the lake, dead fish was found scattered all around. The colour of the lake water had also turned black, indicating the extent of contamination. Some areas of the lake had not been properly maintained, resulting in excessive weed growth. Walkers, however, were satisfied with the lake’s condition, except for the sewage flow issue.

A guard deployed at the lake said the fishkill may have been due to the flow of sewage, which normally happens after the first few rains. “Sewage normally does not enter the lake,” she said. “The BBMP has provided diversion channels. (But) whenever it rains heavily, water with sewage flows into the lake, which may have caused the fishkill.”

Over the last one month, fishkill has been reported in Kothanur, Seetharampalya and other waterbodies.

Annual phenomenon

Vijay Kumar Haridas, Engineer for Lakes, said fishkill in these lakes are an annual phenomenon.

“Fishkill takes place in the beginning of every monsoon season as we see the flow of sewage into the lakes. This leads to a change in water quality,” he said.

But walkers want the BBMP to stop the sewage flow by fixing the stormwater drains and ensure fishkill does not happen annually.