K’taka Pollution Control Board releases list of polluted lakes in Bengaluru

BENGALURU: The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has released a list of 66 polluted major lakes in Bengaluru and other districts.

In Bengaluru, Electronics City was once known as the land of lakes, but due encroachments, many buildings, industries and factories have come up in the area on lake land. Additionally, the existing lakes are being polluting by industries which discharge contaminated water and effluents directly into the lakes..

The KSPCB listed out 15 polluted lakes in the city and said that the water from these lakes cannot be used for domestic purposes. The study was conducted from December 2022 to January 2023. These include:

Bellandur lake

Hulimavu Lake

Kempabudhi Lake

Uttarahalli Lake

Hosakerehalli Lake

Parappana Agrahara Lake

Kasavanahalli Lake

Varthur Lake

Kalena Agrahara Lake

Sarakki Lake

Halasur Lake (near temple)

Sankey Tank

Puttenahalli Lake

Whitefield Lake

Lalbagh Tank

Dr Shant A Thimmaiah, president of PCB said ‘KSPCB is classifying the lake across Karnataka”.

Pollution Control Board Chairman Dr Shant A Thimmaiah said, “The 66 major are not only in the city, but also in other districts. These identified lakes are placed under D and E categories. The major reason for the pollution of lake is sewage influx. The water from these lakes cannot be used for domestic purposes and most of these lakes are now being rejuvenated. The KCPCB monitoring the water bodies and we have conducted training for our officials and given them directions on how to prevent the lake pollution. We are classifying all the lakes in Karnataka based on the level of pollution”.

“We have served notices to industries for non-compliance of environment norms as well as closure notice to some industries”, he added.