Two days have passed since the Varthur Lake in Bengaluru caught fire and people in the vicinity were forced to breath toxic fumes, the Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) is yet to determine the caused of fire.
The BDA reportedly claims that it is not responsible for the fire. Officials added that they had signed an agreement with Minerals Enterprises India (MEI), a corporate, which took up desilting of the lake under its CSR (corporate social responsibility) program.
The fire, which destroyed nearly 20 acres of land in the island visited by migratory birds, comes two months after the National Green Tribunal (NGT) imposed Rs 50 crore penalty on Karnataka for neglecting two lakes, Varthur and Bellandur lake.
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People living in the vicinity spotted thick smoke billowing over the Varthur lake on Sunday afternoon and informed police and fire fighting services.
Fire officials sent three fire tenders from Whitefield, Mahadevapura and Sarjapur. “The fire spot was not accessible. We had to wait for a boat to arrive from Mahadevapura. But, by then, the fire started to fizzle out naturally,” said an official.
Locals said Varthur lake caught fire at three different spots and the fire started spreading quickly. The lake is polluted with sewage, effluents, construction and demolition waste, and household garbage.
The last time a fire broke out in Varthur Lake was in May 2017. In January 2018, the Bellandur lake caught fire and the operation to douse it went on for over 10 hours.