Varthur lake froths amid messy civil works, rain

A sudden burst of rain coupled with ongoing construction works have caused the Varthur Lake to froth again, while officials trusted with coordination and review of the waterbody are away on poll duty.

Residents living closer to the lake said frothing has been intense near Varthur Kodi and Varthur village, where authorities are building the waste weirs. There were also reports of frothing near the Varthur Kodi junction in Whitefield on Monday morning.

Residents blame poor planning and implementation of civil works for the havoc, which, they say, has been exacerbated by lack of coordination between BDA - the lake's custodian - and BBMP, which is carrying out the road work on the lakeside.

The lake's warden and a local resident, Jagadeesh R N, said the waterbody is filled with hyacinth. Lack of coordination between various stakeholders and agencies involved in construction has constricted the water channels to the lake, leading to frothing, he said.

Members of Whitefield Rising said Monday's frothing was particularly intense and could overflow onto the Whitefield Main Road.

"The frothing is going to worsen with every spell of rain and would even get intense during the onset of monsoon, unless the civil works are completed and water flow is restored," a member said.

Sonali Singh, member of the citizen watch group, said there is frothing in Bellandur towards Yamlur and Bellandur bridge.

BDA engineer Veersingh Nayak attributed the frothing to the rain. Admitting that the water channels have been constricted by the ongoing construction activities, he said coordination and review of the works by officials have been difficult since most are busy with election duty.

Nayak also assured that the matter will be addressed immediately.