Bengaluru: Dead fish found in lakes, residents blame leachate contamination from Mitaganahalli landfill

Bengaluru: Hundreds of dead fish were found floating in Kannur and Chikkagubbi lakes on the outskirts of Bengaluru on Friday morning.

Residents allege that leachate from the Mitaganahalli landfill has overflowed, contaminating the lakes, and leading to the fish deaths.

This incident is part of a troubling pattern in the area; a similar occurrence was reported recently at Chikkanagamangala lake, where untreated leachate from the growing garbage pile was released into the waterbody.

Local residents claim that garbage from across the city has been dumped at the landfill for several years, accumulating several lakh tonnes, yet authorities have taken little or no action to address the environmental pollution. The volume of leachate is so significant that the contaminated water resembles a lake filled with excavated quarry material.

Earlier this year, villagers and local panchayat leaders protested against the ongoing dumping of garbage in Mitaganahalli, demanding treatment for the highly contaminated leachate.

It’s learnt that former MLA Aravind Limbavali is unhappy with the BBMP for dumping more than half of Bengaluru’s garbage in his constituency.