Many corporate firms are approaching civic agencies and the urban development department to rejuvenate the city’s lakes, especially Bellandur and Varthur, under the corporate social responsibility (CSR) scheme.
One such proposal has come to the Karnataka Lake Conservation and Development Authority (KLCDA) for inlet treatment. “I have asked the company, Grasim, to get back to us with a detailed proposal and the cost and time they would take for the project. It will also be discussed with other stakeholders before the green signal is given,” G Vidyasagar, chief executive officer, KLCDA told DH.
Inlet treatment is a mechanism where enzymes and chemicals along with dissolved oxygen are introduced at the inlet level. This is done to increase the dissolved oxygen in water. Once the dissolved oxygen increases, the biological oxygen demand (BoD) and the chemical oxygen demand (CoD) will come down. The moment BoD and CoD come down, decomposition is faster and the lake gets cleaned. If this goes on well, there might not be any need for wet dredging.
“The company has offered to do the work at the Y-junction and for oxygen treatment, Sunandan Lala, technical consultant of PCI Gases, has decided to undertake work at Iblur junction,” he said. Meanwhile, another company has offered to weed Varthur lake free of cost. While the KLCDA committee has approved the proposal, Bangalore Development Authority, which is the custodian of Bellandur and Varthur lakes, has to accept it.
Meanwhile, KLCDA is also preparing a detailed design on creating wetlands in Bellandur and Varthur lakes. By creating wetlands, chemicals like nitrates and phosphates will be reduced, said Vidyasagar.
KLCDA states that the plan will be ready for execution in the first week of May. They also hope that by this time, weeding would be completed.
Weeding continues
The BDA continued weeding at Bellandur lake. Like on Wednesday, work continued towards Yemalur side. “We are waiting for the floating machines to arrive to enter the lake and start intensive weeding,” said BDA officials.
Kere Kapadi campaign
Members of Citizens of Bengaluru and Namma Bengaluru Foundation have started a campaign called ‘Kere Kapadi’. As part of the campaign and to monitor the work which the government claims it is doing, a team will visit Bellandur and Varthur lakes on Friday.
The team will be headed by MP Rajeev Chandrashekar, MLA Aravind Limbavali, Varthur corporator Pushpa Manjunath and Bellandur corporator Asha Suresh. Architect Naresh Narasimhan and CEO of Namma Bengaluru Foundation Sirdhar Pabbisetty will also participate.