One of the largest lakes in Bangaluru, the Ulsoor Lake is a magnanimous lake that is sprawled over an area of 50 hectares. With the water level receding, the periphery of the lake, as well as the small islands that have emerged in the middle are being used as sites to throw or even burn garbage.
Ulsoor Lake, a Littered place by Now
The onset of summer is turning out to be an enemy for Ulsoor Lake. The water body which remains at the center of cleanliness campaigns by various citizen organizations is once again becoming a dumping spot. Residents of the area say it is the civic workers who are responsible for polluting the water body.
Ulsoor Lake has been divided into different parts that are under separate authorities, including the irrigation department and the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). A large portion of the lake, which falls under the Army has been maintained well, while the littered portions come under the BBMP, say citizens.
BBMP’s forest department, however, denied that it is disposing of rubbish in the lake. “Though we are maintaining the lake, we are not dumping any waste in it. The Solid Waste Management (SWM) department should be questioned. The workers involved in garbage segregation could be burning the garbage,” Jagannath Rao, Deputy Conservator of Forest, BBMP, said.
Who is Responsible?
BBMP ward corporator Saravana also blamed the officials for not taking action. “We have been contacting senior officers to clean the lake. We have also sent a letter to the commissioner but haven’t received a response yet,” he said.
D Randeep, special commissioner (Solid Waste Management) said, “The DCF has not reported any incident to me. I will check with AEE of Ulsoor and find out since we do not have the GPS tracking system for garbage tippers yet. We are going to bring in a SWM data center that will track the whereabouts of these vehicles. It should come into place after the elections.”
The lake was cleaned by a group of residents and NCC cadres in January this year. Now, Ulsoor Lake has gone from “bad to worse,” with no agency taking responsibility. Poonish Mehra, a resident of the area, said, adding that CCTV cameras need to be installed to prevent people. Including vendors, from throwing garbage in it.
Source: The New Indian Express
