Is it a joke? Sewage flows into only two city lakes, says BWSSB

BENGALURU: Only two lakes in the city now have sewage flowing into them. Well, that's the claim made by the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB). However, the truth is demonstrated by the frothing of Bellandur Lake all of last week leading to the death of many a water body .
A status report furnished by the BWSSB, in response to a public interest litigation filed by the Citizens Action Group, states that the entry of waste water (official parlance for sewage) into nine core-area lakes Allalasandra, Nagavara, Byrasandra, Lalbagh, Ulsoor,Sankey Tank, Deepanjali Nagar, Nayandahalli and Yediyur has been prevented. The only two lakes where sewage continues to enter are JP Park and Kempambudhi lakes, the report claims.

ET visited the Ulsoor lake, which the BWSSB claims, is free from sewage flow especially from the Jeevanahalli MEG Centre side.

“It is a pure lie. There is a big storm water drain that has a sewer line cutting through it. During heavy rains, the two get mixed and sewage gets in," said Kiran P Kulkarni, an activist working to save Ulsoor lake.

Nayandahalli lake too is supposed to be free of sewage. But Jayna Kothari, advocate representing the Citizens Action Group, raised a pertinent question: “The Nayandahalli lake has one storm water drain inlet with four laterals discharging waste water into it. Then how can this lake be free from sewage? The court expects the utility to segregate flow of sewage in all 183 lakes."

BWSSB engineer-in-chief, T Venkatraju, said: “Complete" prevention of sewage entry is not possible.“Well, there will be 5-6% of sewage discharge because of drains passing near the lakes. We cannot spend crores to stop this," he told ET.

The utility's claim, when juxta posed with facts, seem hollow. “Varthur lake is one of the biggest in the city, and tests have shown heavy sewage contamination. It was last de-silted 45 years ago when it was 80 feet deep. Now, it is ten feet, because of all the sewage sludge, silt and sand," the Varthur lake team of Whitefield Rising said in a statement.

“The BWSSB is playing a big farce," said One Bengaluru for Lakes campaign head Arbind Kumar Gupta.“What about Madiwala, Arkere and Challakere? They have picked out the easier ones, ignoring the others."