Early on Friday morning, resident living in the Benniganahalli are woke up to the smell of smoke. When a few concerned residents went out to see where the fire was, they were shocked to see that the lake nearby was up in flames.
“Around 6.30 am, I woke up and smelled a lot of smoke. I thought it must be the people who dump garbage and burn it every day near the Benniganahalli Lake but this time, the lake had caught fire too,” said George J, a resident of the area.
According to George, the garbage is being dumped by BBMP trucks, a few autos which carry waste from nearby restaurants and even locals.
“It’s not just the garbage being dumped in the lake which is a problem but that they set fire to it. This has been going on for almost four years now. We have been writing to the BBMP about this for a few years now and no action has been taken,” he added.
George, however, alleged that a few residents got together and put out the fire immediately as it had still not spread across the lake.
“It was a mild one and we got there on time. We were any way planning to call the fire station but luckily, we did not have to,” another resident alleged.
According to Ram Prasad, a lake activist from Friends of Lakes, a tree had caught fire a few months ago when a BBMP truck had dumped and burned garbage near the lake.
“The restaurants and even locals throw their kitchen waste in there. There are trucks which dump meat waste and then set it on fire. This has been going on for years now. These trucks come in from Marathahalli. Nobody cares about it,” Ram Prasad said.
Ram Prasad alleges that over the years the pollution level in the lake has gone up and that a few activists had also written to the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board to order the BBMP garbage vans to stop dumping waste there.
“Everything moves at a snail’s pace. Till now, not even one official has come to inspect the condition of the lake,” he added.
Karnataka State Lake Development Authority CEO Vidyasagar Rao said that the agency had not received any complaint from either the residents or the BBMP. He assured that officials would be sent to the spot to take stock of the situation and promised appropriate action.
They Bellandur lake in the city has been notorious for catching fire, with the lake frothing with chemicals.