Kaggadasapura lake latest to spill toxic foam

 Before the toxic foams in Bellandur and Varthur lakes could settle, the city has to tackle with one more waterbody seething with toxins and garbage dumped into its waters.

The 45-acre Kaggadasapura lake in CV Raman Nagar has been spewing toxic foam and putrid odor for the last few days, making the place virtually unlivable for the residents in nearby apartments and slum dwellings.

The lake has been threatening to breach its banks due to lack of maintenance, and now, adding to the distress is the unbearable stench wafting from the hyacinth-covered waters, thanks to mindless discarding of garbage.

"This has been the condition for the past two years," said Ashwin Kumar, who resides close by the lake. "This time, the rain added to the poisonous stew."

He said the local MLA and corporator failed to act on repeated complaints about the lake's condition.

The BBMP has built a children's park adjacent to the lathering waters. Alarmed residents have stopped sending their children to the park.

"The foams could cause skin disease to the children," said Meenakshi Rao, a resident of an apartment closer to the lake. "No one walks or jogs on the walking track around the lake."

While the stench emanating from the lake is harder to ignore, it is the slum dwellers living closer to the lakebed who suffer the most. "The foam enters our house," complained Manikanta, a slum dweller. "The disgusting smell makes it harder to live here. We had to put up with water-logging during the recent rains."

Prasanna Kumar (70) said he had to keep the windows closed all the time to shield the stench from entering his living quarters. "It's unbearable, especially in the mornings," he said. "We're senior citizens and this's not how we'd like to live."

BBMP Commissioner N Manjunath Prasad told this newspaper that he would discuss the issue with the officer concerned. "We'll make sure it is solved soon enough," he said.