Bengaluru: At Bengaluru’s 1,000-acre Bellandur Lake, infamous for pollution and toxic foam, a massive fire broke out this afternoon. It took more than 5,000 army personnel and fire-fighting equipment to bring the fire that raged for seven hours under control.
Videos of the fire show thick black smoke rising in the sky above the lake.
Later in the evening, the fire started again at two places in the lake, which is Bengaluru’s largest.
Army personnel are still alert to prevent the fire spreading into the army and adjoining civil area.
No loss to life or property has been reported.
Bellandur Lake made big news last year when in August it spewed out so much toxic foam that residents living nearby complained they had to stay indoors. The lake had also caught fire last year.
The National Green Tribunal had directed the Karnataka government to fix the lakes last year, but there has been no solution yet. The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), which is the custodian of the lakes, has been working to remove weeds and is using high-power pumps and coir foam mattresses and other filtering techniques to stop the frothing, but to little impact.
Experts from Britain and Israel have visited to study the problem and they say that the solution is simple – stop pouring pollutants into the lakes.
Bellandur Lake, the largest of the 262 lakes and tanks in Bengaluru, receives about 40 per cent of the city’s sewage.
The Environment Ministry had said in 2016 that everyday about 1,280 million litres of sewage is generated in Bengaluru, while the city’s infrastructure has the capacity to handle only 721 million litres of sewage.
Since 137 out of 500 sewage treatment plants are defunct, only 600 million litres sewage is treated and the rest goes to the lakes.
The central government had in April 2016 said that it would invest Rs. 800 crore to rejuvenate the lakes in Bengaluru, especially the Bellandur Lake.
With inputs from IANS
kushal kumar
January 20, 2018 at 5:17 pm
News reports say that a missive fire broke out at Bengaluru’s Bellandur Lake on 18 January 2018. About five thousand army men were pressed into service to douse the fire. It is reported that the fire has been doused. In this connection , readers may know this Vedic astrology writer’s alerts for more care and appropriate strategy in article – “Astrologically speaking , some alerts for India in coming year 2018” – published last year at theindiapost.com on 19 October , 2017. The alert had sought more care and appropriate strategy in relation to fire , gas , chemicals and the like in 2018 , more so during July-August. ( The said website is understood to be in renovation since 11 October , 2018).