The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board on Monday will seal the six industrial units primarily responsible for polluting the Bellandur Lake, Deccan Chronicle reported on Friday. “Our officials have already carried out inspection of the major polluters, and we served notices to 11 industries two weeks ago. Of them, six of the major polluters of Bellandur Lake will be sealed on Monday,” KSPCB Chairperson Lakshman told the daily.
The board has found that 97 of the 488 industries located in the area are water-based and have been polluting the locality. The body took action after the National Green Tribunal on Wednesday ordered the Karnataka government to shut down all industrial units operating near the highly-polluted water body and announced a fine of Rs 5 lakh for anyone dumping waste in and around the lake. It also gave the state government a month to clean the lake.
Besides industrial effluents, untreated sewage from scores of residential apartments around the lake is a major pollutant. The tribunal had also criticised the government for not having taken any steps to prevent the entry of sewage into the lake. “Our officials have already visited 500 apartments and have served notices to those that do not have a sewage treatment plant,” Lakshman told Deccan Chronicle.
Moreover, Karnataka Chief Secretary Subhash Kuntia held a meeting on Friday to discuss plans to revive the lake, reported Bangalore Mirror. An expert panel has been formed to revive the water body. “About six remedial measures have been decided upon and assigned to various departments for implementation. We do hope that collectively, all those measures will be put in place in the next month, and there will be some noticeable changes on the lake front,” an official told Bangalore Mirror.
Bengaluru Development Minister KJ George said they had floated a tender for de-weeding and desilting of the lake. “We will finalise the contractor after evaluating the technical and financial bids. A meeting has also been called of officials of the Bengaluru Development Authority, Bruhat Bengaluru Municipal Palike, KSPCB and the Lake Development Authority to discuss the lake’s revival,” he added.
In February this year, residents around Bengaluru’s largest lake had noticed that it had started frothing and that its surface had caught fire. The toxic sfroth – produced by untreated sewage water flowing into the lake – had spilled over onto the roads and into drains around the lake, posing a huge health and environment hazard. Residents in neighbouring areas, who had long been complaining about the odious stench from the lake, raised health concerns about the fire that may have been sparked by chemicals in the water.
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