Feature: Heavy froth rising from Bellandur lake in South India irks residents

Bellandur lake in southern India city of Bengaluru is spewing froth much to the annoyance of residents and the commuters.

The white toxic spume rises from the lake and floats in the air, thereby obstructing the commuting movements of pedestrians and motorcyclists.

"It is simply a mess," Nirjara Anand, a working woman living in Bellandur apartment colony, close to the lake, told Xinhua.

"There seems to be no respite for us especially during the past three days as froth has spilt onto the roads and floats up in the air making it tough for commuters to pass through."

Television images and videos uploaded by irked residents on social media platforms show lake turning into a sea of froth and winds lifting its smaller parts up in the air and landing on road.

Experts said the lake is heavily polluted as untreated sewage and pollutants get discharged into it. The polluted water, according to locals, emanates an obnoxious stench round the clock.

India's environment court, the National Green Tribunal (NGT), on Tuesday blamed local Karnataka law department and other officials for failing to implement its orders regarding cleaning the lake.

The order to clean the lake was passed after last year's fire incident inside the lake.

A NGT official said the apathetic behavior of officials angered the court which summoned more officials and declared that it would hold a day-to-day hearing of the case from Wednesday.

According to the urban development department of the Karnataka government, at an average 480 million liters per day (MLD) of sewage gets discharged into the lake, of which only 230 MLD is treated out.

However, the Karnataka Pollution Control Board (KPCB) sharply contests the figures, saying the levels of pollution are much more higher.

"The lake has been infested with toxic chemicals and untreated sewage for long that is causing it to froth and at times provides the atmosphere conducive to fire," an official of KPCB said.

"The sustained inflow of pollutants have increased beyond the lake's assimilative capacity and over the years has led to nutrient enrichment, profuse growth of macrophytes and algae in it."

Choked with industrial effluents and untreated garbage that flew into it, Bellandur lake caught fire in February this year, letting off thick clouds of smoke and spewing ash in the area nearby.

Authorities have to rush firefighters to the spot to douse the ranging flames.

India's federal ministry of environment ordered an enquiry into the fire incident in the lake.

Last year the lake was in news because of the similar fire inside it.

Currently Bangalore Development Authority and Karnataka State Industries and Infrastructure Corporation Limited (KSIIDC) are trying to get charge for the revival of the lake. However, NGT has objected to the idea of multiple agencies monitoring for Bellandur lake.

Earlier, the local government was contemplating to invite British and Israeli firms to rid the lake of the pollution.

Residents said the froth increases during weekends whenever there is an excess sewage inflow into the lake and rain aggravates the situation further.

"I have personally felt that during weekends the problem becomes more serious as rains aggravate the situation further," Anand said. Endit