Over 1k fish dead in lake; locals suspect sewage, waste plant leachate

Bengaluru: Morning walkers were shocked to find over 1,000 dead fish floating in Chikkanagamangala Lake, near Electronics City, Friday. They suspect sewage and leachate from a poorly managed waste-processing plant nearby for the disaster.
Residents alleged that their protests and letters to Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) and Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) about the stench emanating from the polluted lake failed to elicit any response.
"We are forced to tolerate this because of authorities' careless attitude; they just don't take us seriously," said Santosh Jain, a resident.
Pranay Dubey, from citizens' forum Electronic City Rising, said, "The operators of Chikkanagamangala waste-processing plant may have discharged untreated water from the garbage dumpyard, which flowed into the lake, causing the fish to die."
Chikkanagamangala waste-processing plant, about 300 metres from the lake, processes about 100 metric tonnes of garbage every day. Locals have long opposed the plant, arguing that waste is not handled scientifically. A recent inspection by National Green Tribunal (NGT) joint committee revealed that the plant lacked proper leachate-treatment facilities.
However, officials from Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited (BSWML) said, "We set up a leachate-treatment facility at the plant about five months ago, and 50,000 litres are treated daily. Nothing goes untreated, and the treated water is used for tree planting. Someone else may be discharging sewage into the lake."
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It's very irresponsible of govt agencies to pollute rejuvenated lakes. All our efforts were destroyed by this sewage and toxic water despite being assured that the inlet would be closed
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, executive chairperson, Biocon Limited, on X