Bengaluru’s Bellandur Lake Catches Fire Again, Residents Panic

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, Jan 19, 2018 : Bengaluru’s infamous Belandur lake on Friday caught fire when some of the locals set the grass on a dry patch of the lake on fire. Residents living on the Yemlur side of Bellandur lake said they observed some smoke around 10 AM in the morning but soon it went out of control compelling them to call fire tenders. The fire department had a tough time controlling the blaze.

 

Karnataka Lake Conservation and Development Authority officials said that the resident must not panic as the fire is under control now. Reflecting on the causes of fire, Chief Executive Officer Seema Garg of the authority said some of the local had set grass on a dry patch on fire to allow the growth of fresh grass.

 “It is the grass that was being burnt by some locals that had resulted in the fire in the lake. They had put the fire to get fresh crop to feed their cattle. Some areas which are away from the waterbody is still burning. They are making every effort to douse the fire. Once summer comes the grass becomes dry and people burn the grass to harvest new growth, this is a common practice in forest areas also,” The News Minute quoted Garg as saying.

However, this is not the first time when such fire alarmed the residents. Bellandur Lake, also the biggest lake of the city receives 40 per cent of the sewage, caught similar fires in  May 2015 and August 2016. Miffed after Lake authority’s inaction, the National Green Tribunal had summoned officials to present an action plan.

“Come back with an action plan on how the lake would be cleaned and the status report of the situation of pollution in the lake,” the bench directed the officials.


courtesy:Yahoo