BBMP, BWSSB slammed for letting sewage flow into Yelahanka Puttenahalli Lake

Bengaluru: Four months after the National Green Tribunal (NGT) ordered the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) and the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to prevent sewage from entering the Yelahanka Puttenahalli Lake Bird Conservation Reserve, sewage-mixed stormwater continues to flow into the lake.

During a visit on Friday, DH observed sewage gushing into the lake from layouts in the northwestern part through a newly built stormwater drain (SWD). The stench was pervasive, and the 500-metre walking path had become unusable due to digging work for the hume pipe installation.

The BBMP had constructed the SWD to prevent flooding in Attur and surrounding areas. However, the drain ends abruptly at the lake boundary. Officials began laying hume pipes along the lake's walking path without securing clearances from the Forest Department. After heavy rains in early June, sewage began flooding into the lake.

Following a complaint by the Yelahanka Puttenahalli Lake Bird Conservation Trust, the NGT on June 18 directed the BBMP and BWSSB to stop sewage from entering the lake and prohibited further digging. In response, the BBMP initially blocked the SWD with sandbags. However, according to a resident, the sandbags were removed last Sunday, leading to a renewed flow of sewage, worsened by recent rains.

BBMP Chief Engineer BS Prahlad claimed he was unaware of the sandbag removal, but stated that the SWD was intended only for rainwater runoff, not sewage.

No end to violations

Despite regulations prohibiting construction within 15 metres of an SWD, an apartment has been built just one metre from the new drain, discharging brackish water into it.

BBMP officials promised to investigate these violations, but the BWSSB has not responded to inquiries about the water discharge.

A conservationist criticised the BBMP’s "unscientific work" and the BWSSB’s failure to stop sewage discharge, lamenting that the government’s Rs 6-crore investment in the bird reserve is being undermined. "We are witnessing its slow death," he warned.