Now, hundreds of fish die in another City lake

Hundreds of fish were found dead in Devarabeesanahalli lake, Sarjapur Road, on March 16, almost two weeks after a large-scale fishkill was reported in Ulsoor lake in the heart of Bengaluru.

Local residents, including some eyewitnesses, said the fishkill went unnoticed because the civic authorities took no action. Vijay Nishant, an urban conservationist who visited the lake on Friday, said that an overpowering stench had engulfed the area and its surroundings.

The fishkill was triggered by the release of sewage water and industrial pollutants into the lake, he said and blamed real estate and information technology companies located in the vicinity. “This is like another Ulsoor lake,” he said.

The 14.3-acre lake is maintained by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA). A similar fishkill was reported in the lake in June last year. More than a hundred fish were found floating dead then.

BDA officials were not available for comment. The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has washed its hand of the incident, with one of its officials saying the board doesn’t have a sewage network in Mahadevapura zone under which the lake falls. The place is part of 110 villages that were added to form the Greater Bengaluru in 2007, he added.