CM Siddaramaiah commissioned four new sewage treatment plants in Bellandur and other areas, and said that these problems of lakes catching fire and lakes spewing toxic foam would be solved.
The plants will be built with financial aid from the Japan International Cooperation Agency.“The problems suffered in Varthur, Bellandur and Agara Lakes due to discharge of untreated water can be redressed because of them,” the CM said.
“An MoU will be signed with Japan International Agency to ensure 770 MLD of water is supplied to the city under Cauvery Water Supply Scheme Stage V,” he added.
With the new STP at Bellandur, 69% of the city’s sewage can be treated, reported The Hindu.
“Only Mumbai, with 74% of sewage treatment, is ahead of Bengaluru,” Mahendra Jain, Additional Chief Secretary (Urban Development) told the newspaper stating that Delhi and Chennai treats 60% and a little more than 50% of sewage respectively.
The treated water from these plants will be used in Chikkaballapur and Kolar.
“It is the only lake development authority in the world which is causing fire in the lakes,” the National Green Tribunal had earlier said, referring to the Karnataka Lake Development and Conservation Authority(KLCDA) in April, when the Bellandur Lake infamously caught fire for the second time.
KLCDA is the nodal authority under the state government tasked with the upkeep of all lakes in the state. The green court had also pulled up the state government for allowing untreated sewage flow into the lake.
Other than flaming up twice, Bellandur is unpopular among local residents for huge clouds of white, toxic foam floating up onto the roads regularly from the lake’s surface. The situation is similar in Varthur Lake too.
Recently, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, along with local MLA K Sudhakar, laid the foundation stone for the revival of Kandavara Kere in Chikkaballapur, 25 km from Bengaluru International Airport. Treated water from Bagalur STP will feed the dried lake and once the lake is filled, water will be redirected to 44 other tanks.