Bengaluru: The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), which is the custodian of the more-than-750-acre Bellandur lake, came under fire from residents on Monday for not having adequately fenced the area.
Bengaluru Development Minister K.J. George convened a meeting with civic officials as well as resident welfare associations (RWAs) of citizens residing near Bellandur and Varthur lakes.
The fire, which started on Friday morning, is believed to have been started by grazers who bring livestock to feed on the overgrown grass along the banks of the lake. The BDA has filed a complaint with the police, who are attempting to ascertain if the grass was indeed intentionally set on fire.
Bellandur Lake Group, an informal collective of RWAs in the area, pointed out that the BDA has not completely fenced the lake nor have they maintained the ‘fenced’ portions. The lake has a perimeter of more than 14 kilometres, of which only the sides facing Yemlur and HAL airport have been fenced. Grazers and others repeatedly access the lake through the porous boundaries, allege residents.
BDA officials, who attended the meeting, admitted to their failure in mending portions of the fence that is either broken or destroyed.
At the meeting, BDA officials offered to complete fencing of the entire lake in a month, excluding the part abutting the Iblur Firing Range.
Bellandur Lake Group brought up the issue of waste, particularly construction waste, being dumped along the periphery of the lake, as well as the emergence of illegal waste processing units on the banks.
The Minister ordered officials to remove the waste and clear the grasslands, and to put in place measures to prevent dumping of waste. “To control the stagnation of the lake, we will also consider a proposal to install sluice gates to control the flow of water from Bellandur to Varthur lake,” George said.
