The Environment Ministry is planning round-the-clock monitoring of Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) to combat pollution in Bangaluru lakes.
Recently, thousands of dead fish were washed ashore at Ulsoor lake raising concerns about water pollution in the city. Further, thick froth formed on the Yamlur lake was also a source of concern. There are about 70 lakes in the city and nearly half of its sewage is going untreated into these lakes. The Environment Ministry is also considering bringing in an overarching law for lake preservation in the city.
The decision came in the wake of a meeting with the Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar with the Minister of Chemicals & Fertilizers, Ananth Kumar, who is also the MP of Bangaluru. Also present in the meeting was Karnataka Environment Minister Ramanath Rai, along with senior state officials.
Discharge of untreated sewage being generated in the city into the lakes is a major cause for their degradation. Against present sewage generation of around 1320 MlD (million litres per day), installed treatment capacity is 721 MlD. The effective treatment capacity of these STPs is however 600 MlD. CPCB had earlier under section 18 (1)(b) of the Water Act had directed that all local bodies in Karnataka will have to establish STPs. The waste water can only be released into water bodies after treating it.
In this connection, the state elaborated that to bridge the gap between sewage generation and treatment, Bengaluru Water Supply & Sewerage Board is working towards the enhancement of its sewage treatment capacity upto 1761 MlD by 2020. It is expected to complete installation of 336 MlD STP capacity by December 2018, 515 MlD capacity by December 2019 and 189 MlD capacity by December 2020.
listing out the other initiatives, the meeting decided that efforts will also be taken for the bio-development of lakes in Bengaluru which will include parameters of oxygenation of the lakes. While plastic has been banned an authority has been formed for preparing a lake by lake restoration plan with a timeline. The corporate sector will also be involved in the process of preservation of lakes.