For the second time this year, dirty and stench-filled water was pumped out of the outlet at Lakshmisagar lake, giving ammunition to opponents of the contentious project to pump treated sewage water to Kolar district.
The ₹1,400-crore project, which was inaugurated in June, has been under the scanner for letting out sewage-laden water into lakes of Kolar district.
On Wednesday, Murugesh, a farmer in Narsapura, observed blackish water flowing in the newly-made channel which allows for overflows from Narsapura lake towards Doddavallabi lake in Kolar district. “In Lakshmisagar, the stench is unbearable. This polluted water has been coming for three days. But since Tuesday night, the stench has been unbearable,” he said.
Pumping of water was halted by Wednesday evening.
The project — popularly called Koramangala-Challaghatta Valley project — was planned to pump 400 million litres of treated sewage from Bengaluru to 126 tanks in Kolar district. However, barely a month after its inauguration, froth was observed at Lakshmisagar, which is at the outlet of a 55-km pipeline to transport water from Sewage Treatment Plants near Bellandur and Varthur lakes.
While officials claimed it was done accidentally, the matter reached the High Court, which directed the stopping of pumping on July 24. After the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) and the State government gave assurances of the quality of water, the court gave its go-ahead to resume pumping. On October 6, pumping resumed, albeit in quantities of lesser than 50 million litres per day.
“It is alarming that sewage had begun to flow again, particularly when we consider that officials have been on their toes due to High Court scrutiny. On most days, you can see small pools of froth in the channels or banks while a strange smell is a near constant,” said Anjaneya Reddy, a petitioner in the court case against the project.
However, minor irrigation department officials brushed aside claims of sewage being pumped, and said the water quality conforms to standards.
“Pumping was stopped because of electrical works being undertaken near the STPs. As electricity was a problem, pumping had been halted,” said M. Ravindrappa, Chief Engineer (Bengaluru), Minor Irrigation Department.
