With growing outrage over the massive fire at Bellandur Lake, government agencies are pointing fingers at one another.
The pollution control authorities are slapping notices on two agencies for the conflagration, and are being asked, in turn, to fund the protection and rejuvenation of the lake.
Lakshman, chairman of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, told DH the notices were going out on Monday to the Bangalore Development Authority and the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board.
Saturday's meeting
Lake stakeholders, including the BDA, BWSSB, KSPCB and the Karnataka Lake Conservation and Development Authority, met on Saturday. Additional chief secretary Mahendra Jain chaired the meeting.
"The BDA and BWSSB have 15 days to reply to our notice. We will ask them to submit a status report on the short- and medium-term measures they have taken," Lakshman said.
The smoke and the stench clearly indicate the presence of methane in the atmosphere. The lake is full of garbage and pollutants, he said.
Water and air quality
The notice is being served under the Water Act, and also because the level of particulate matter has increased 10-fold following the fire on Friday and Saturday, Lakshman said.
QUOTES
We are struggling to know the cause of the fire. We will request the Pollution Control Board and the Centre to help us out financially. We will also form watch-and-ward groups for 100% vigil, and deploy security guards
- Rakesh Singh, BDA commissioner
The repeat flare-ups show how badly the lake is polluted
- Sonali Singh, Citizens Watch Group
The lake is full of sewage. Cameras and boards warning of a Rs 5,000 penalty serve no purpose
- Sandeep Sudarshan, resident of Varthur
Lake water is at its worst. The government has not implemented any of the measures recommended by our committee
- T V Ramachandra, Centre of Ecological Sciences, IISc, and lake expert committee member