Untreated Bellandur water leaves Kolar lake frothing

With its plan to fill parched lakes of Kolar district with treated water from Bengaluru under its ambitious KC Valley project, the state government has ended up creating Bellandur and Varthur lakes in Kolar. The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has left the people of Kolar shocked by pumping water from the frothing and polluted Bellandur and Varthur lakes, which has resulted in intense frothing at Lakshmisagara Lake near Kolar.

Caught off guard by BWSSB’s gaffe, minor irrigation department officials have shut the pipeline. However, the untreated water had already caused damage with half of the lake water turning black. The incident was first noticed by morning walkers who alerted officials after seeing flying froth and stench on Tuesday morning.

Confirming that the tank received untreated water, Lokesh, an engineer with the minor irrigation department in Kolar said, “We had written to BWSSB a day ago to immediately stop the water saying there was frothing and it was not treated properly. Now, we have completely stopped the supply.” However, BWSSB officials attributed it to the recent rains.

BWSSB engineer Nithyananda Kumar said, “Due to heavy rains, the water swelled and blocked the actual supply of treated water. Subsequently, it may have got mixed with the flow. However, we are trying to ascertain where it has gone wrong and a detailed report along with drawings will be submitted to higher officials.”

However, the locals not only slammed the BWSSB but also accused the engineers of gross negligence. “We have been opposing the project since the beginning. Our fears have been proven true today,” explained Prince Isac, who has been representing the protesting people in the high court. But the officials maintained that they have not compromised on the quality of water. “Everyday, we have been testing the water by drawing random samples at three different locations. All the readings are as per KSPCB norms,” a BWSSB engineer claimed.

Ever since pumping began, about 100 MLD of treated water was pumped to various lakes sourced from three different STPs in KC Valley. With the commissioning of yet another STP a few days ago, the capacity was increased to 180 MLD since Sunday.