Pollution Control Board officials collect samples; dead fish cleared using coracles, fish nets

Mysore/Mysuru: Woken up by thousands of dead and rotting fish at Hebbal Lake, officials from the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) have collected samples of water that enters into the Lake. The heavy water with a heady mix of industrial effluents have caused the fish death, said residents and people who walk daily around the water body.

The untreated effluents are released directly into the Lake and though there are six Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs)  set up by the Infosys Foundation while rejuvenating the Lake by spending Rs. 105 crore, industries have been releasing poisonous water into the water body, choking it.

KSPCB Officer Geetha, Deputy Environment Officers Ramesh and Hameeda and team collected water samples from around the Lake and also collected samples where the largest concentration of fish death has occurred. Also, samples from the place where industrial effluents enter the Lake were gathered and information was collected on the sewage flow into the Lake from the residential localities around the Lake.

Photographing the evidence of sewage and industrial effluent flow, the officials said that they will be testing the samples at their laboratory and recommend the future steps to be taken. The exact cause for the fish death would be known only after the testing, Geetha said.

Tonnes of dead fish were cleared from the Lake using a couple of fibre coracles and fish nets. Analysing the death of fish, environment activists have pinned the blame on the polluting industries that release noxious water directly into the Lake. The STP set up by Infosys Foundation, collects 90 lakh litres of polluting water and releases the treated water every day into the Lake.

However, the quantity of poison water and sewage entering directly into the Lake is far more than the treated water and as such, the balance is lost, said Green activists. The administrative bodies like the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) that hands over land to the industries by charging a premium amount and KSPCB, that is supposed to check pollution in the area and penalise violators have failed in their duties, they alleged.

Due to uncontrolled release of sewage water and industrial waste water, the pure water in the Hebbal Lake that supports aquatic life, has turned greenish, the activists noted. “The catchment areas of the Lake have been converted into layouts and as such, rainwater does not enter into the Lake. Along with the industrial waste, sewage water from the residential areas combined with plastic waste is let out into the Lake and as a result, fish death will not stop,” said eco-conscious people. If the industrial area and residential area rules are strictly enforced, such incidents can be avoided. But as all the rules are given a go-by by KSPCB and KIADB, the price has to be paid, they rued.