Bengaluru: Bengaluru’s Bellandur lake, infamous for its pollution, spewed froth and foam on to the busy roads surrounding it on Tuesday after overnight rain. Giant chunks of smelly, white froth – that looked like cotton – were carried up in the air and spread across the busy locality as cars and motorbikes passed by. In several places, the thick froth from the 900-acre lake rose to almost 10 feet. The toxic froth in Bellandur and the other lakes of Bengaluru has persisted for at least two decades and has become a regular phenomenon of sorts whenever it rains heavily. Three others lakes – Yemalur, Varthur, and Byramangala lake – also saw heavy frothing recently.
Also Read: Bellandur Lake Is Bengaluru’s Biggest Septic Tank, Says Green Tribunal Report As Toxic Froth Returns
Chemicals and pollutants had the lakes frothing for decades but made international headlines when the lakes started breathing fire and smoke too in the recent years. “We have issued notices to all concerned parties to respond to who release the water without treatment,” said Laxman, the chief of the Karnataka pollution control board.
Bellandur lake has become the largest septic tank in the city due to “sheer callousness and indifference”, the green court had said in June this year and ordered the Karnataka government to take action.
In July, the sewage-filled froth of Bellandur lake travelled all the way to neighbouring Kolar district and reached a 1,400-crore water project.
Also Read: At 15, Bengaluru Teen Fought To Save Water. Now, She’s Going Places
In February last year, huge flames were seen leaping off Bellandur lake, covering the region in thick smoke. The fire recurred in January this year, and around 5,000 army personnel had to be deployed. They managed to put out the flames only after a seven-hour battle. The weather office in Bengaluru said the city got an average of 4 cm rain due to the southwest monsoon in the last few days. The rain is expected to continue for the next four days, the chief of the met department in Bengaluru said.
Also Read: In Bengaluru, 5,000 Armymen Fought Raging Fire At Bellandur Lake
NDTV – Dettol Banega Swachh India campaign lends support to the Government of India’s Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). Helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan, the campaign aims to spread awareness about hygiene and sanitation, the importance of building toilets and making India open defecation free (ODF) by October 2019, a target set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when he launched Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in 2014. Over the years, the campaign has widened its scope to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and menstrual hygiene. The campaign has also focused extensively on marine pollution, clean Ganga Project and rejuvenation of Yamuna, two of India’s major river bodies
