Lockdown forces villagers to live with stench of dead fish from nearby Mottanalluru lake

BENGALURU : People residing around Mottanalluru lake were forced to live with the stench of dead fish emanating from the water body for nearly a week, till they got the officials to act, and that too only after a social media post highlighted their plight.

The villagers had to take the help of lake activists to get the officials’ attention, as all their requests were falling on deaf ears. “We first saw dead fish floating on the lake surface on Monday. Multiple calls were made to officials of Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), Minor Irrigation and Anekal Panchayat, only to hear that no one could come owing to the lockdown.

When the stench became unbearable, we had to approach of activists. They were also unsuccessful initially, but on Saturday, a team of officials inspected the site,” said a local.  The lake is located 16 km from Koramanagala. It is not in BBMP limits, as it sits on the border of the Mahadevapura constituency and Anekal town. Locals said they also requested MLA Shivanna, who mentioned that the lake is a part of the KC Valley linking project. 

Kavitha Reddy, an activist and village resident, said, “We have been requesting the officials to take water samples and control the entry of pollutants. The villagers depend upon the lake water, which should be protected,” she said.

A senior KSPCB official said that the team found that the fish were actually dead for two days, and it was because of the sudden dip in dissolved oxygen (DO). “The sudden downpour over the last two days, coupled with the inflow of effluents and pesticides from surrounding industries and agricultural fields has killed the fish,” the official said, adding that in March also, samples were taken and it was found that the water is fit only for agricultural work.