Final run of Bellandur Lake sluice gate takes off

It acts like a dam to check frothing; launch likely on Wednesday

The final run of the sluice gate set up at Bellandur Kodi to check the frothing in Bengaluru's largest lake took off on Monday.

The trial, which began at 2.30 pm, is being carried out to monitor the water quality and the performance of the gate on an hourly basis. Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) engineers and contractors said frothing had visibly come down in Bellandur Lake at the spot where the sluice gate had been set up.

The sluice gate is among several steps the government has taken to check the frothing and the resultant fire accidents in the 906-acre waterbody in southern Bengaluru. The BDA set up the sluice gate against the advice of an 18-member expert committee set up on the National Green Tribunal's (NGT) orders to revive Bellandur Lake. The BDA is also building a sluice gate at Varthur Kodi. Tenders for the Rs 22-crore project were invited last December.

The first trial of the sluice gate was carried out on July 13 with temporary settings, and went off smoothly. Engineers then installed all the machinery. A BDA official said if the final run went off without a hitch, the sluice gate would be officially opened on Wednesday. "We checked all the parameters after the machines were installed and water was let in through the gate," the official added.

The engineers spent the whole evening checking parameters like how the gate operates, whether the height needs to be lowered, how is the froth generated, how to manage the weeds that flow with water, the inflow and the outflow. "The exit point of the gate is crucial as the idea is to control frothing. We are also checking the levels at which the water flow needs to be regulated. If the water flow downstream is high, the sluice gate can be closed and the water flow can be stopped. It acts like a dam," a site engineer explained.

All machinery, including cranes, are on standby on to avert untoward incidents.

Rural lakes to be developed with private sector help Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Monday said he would take personal interest to develop lakes in rural areas under the public-private partnership mode. Kumaraswamy, who reviewed the Karnataka Lake Conservation and Development Authority, directed the minor irrigation department to prepare a "comprehensive" proposal on development of lakes and submit the same for government approval. The chief minister also warned against the misuse of funds released for desilting of lakes. During the meeting, minor irrigation minister C S Puttaraju urged Kumaraswamy to prioritise his department to ensure the protection and conservation of lakes. Ministers R V Deshpande (revenue), D K Shivakumar (water resources), N H Shivashankar Reddy (agriculture), Krishna Byre Gowda (RDPR) and Shankar (forest) were present.