Bellandur Lake fire: Panel members differ on cause

BENGALURU: Members of a commission appointed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to inspect Bellandur Lake, on Saturday, differed among themselves on the reasons for the cause of the fires around the lake.

The commission inspected Bellandur Lake, the storm water drain (SWD) at ST Bed, Koramangala, the sewage treatment plant (STP) of a private apartment near the lake, and the STP at the Koramangala-Challaghatta valley. The committee now has to assign work to each department to address questions asked in the last NGT hearing.

Environmentalist Yellappa Reddy, one of the members, said the some others differed on the causes of the fire, with the civic agencies of the view that the fires were man-made, while Reddy himself and  IISc Professor T V Ramachandra blamed the toxic conditions of the lake. Reddy said, “As inflammable objects enter the lake in the form of sewage or solid waste, they are bound to catch fire.”

Karnataka Lake Conservation and Development Authority CEO Seema Garg too admitted that there was some confusion regarding the cause of the fire, and said the commission’s observations would be disclosed on Sunday evening.

BDA Commissioner Rakesh Singh said the inspection was carried out for the members of the commission to understand the terms of reference. “This exercise is basically to understand whether the action plan submitted by state govt would achieve the desired objectives.”

Other members of the commission include senior advocate Raj Panjwani and Joint Commissioner, SWD, BBMP Sarfaraz Khan. The inspection was assisted by NGO Namma Bengaluru Foundation, with its CEO Sridhar Pabbishetty in the inspection team.

Spots inspected on Saturday
Koramangala ST Bed Storm Water Drain
Sun City STP (Pvt STP)
Bellandur Lake
Koramangala Challaghatta Valley STP
Scheduled for Sunday
Varthur lake
Agara lake