Slow weeding at Bellandur lake as floating machines yet to come

Weeding at the 910-acre Bellandur lake in southeastern Bengaluru has slowed down because of delay in arrival of three floating machines that can remove about 60 tonnes of the wild plant in a day.

The slow work means the state government has little to show in terms of cleaning the polluted lake almost two weeks after the National Green Tribunal (NGT) ordered it on April 19 to clean the waterbody within a month. The NGT ruling had spurred the government into action with Chief Secretary Subhash Chandra Khuntia and Additional Chief Secretary (Urban Development Department) Mahendra Jain visiting the lake and ordering officials to pull their socks up.

A senior official in the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), which is the custodian of Bellandur lake, said the floating machines were to arrive on Friday but were delayed in transit. “The road transport authority held up the vehicle carrying the dismantled floating machine for verification. Since it’s a large vehicle, officials needed to check the transit papers. The authorities took some time to sort it out,” he told DH.  The BDA has entrusted weeding to Harvins Constructions Private Limited at a cost of Rs 3.35 crore. The company is bringing three special floating machines from Mumbai for the purpose.

The first machine is set to arrive in Bengaluru by Tuesday afternoon while the other two will take a day or two more (again because of permit issues). Presently, two earthmovers are carrying out limited weeding on the banks of the lake. Once the machines come, around 60 tonnes of weeds can be cleared every day, the official said.

No takers for weeds & silt
Meanwhile, the government seems to be keen on clearing weeds from the lake, not disposing them. The cleared weeds are lying in the catchment area of Bellandur lake near Yemalur. “Presently, we are just piling up the weeds and silt on one side of the lake. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) was asked to take the weeds and silt to quarry pits, but it is yet to respond. The urban development department hasn’t directed us what to do with the weeds. So, we have just left them around the lake until future orders,” the BDA official said.
DH News Service