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India: Hundreds of dead fish float in Bengaluru lake; residents complain of pollution

Bangalore - The fish were killed by the sudden dip in dissolved oxygen and the inflow of effluents and pesticides from nearby industrial units.

Way back in the mid-1980s, Bangalore had over 50 lakes, with fresh water gushing across the city. Sadly, today there are less than a score of lakes and many such as the Mottanalluru are flooded with effluents including pesticides and chemical wastes, which kill most of the fish and other creatures.

Residents around lake Mottanalluru have been complaining to local officials and the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board over the past few days about the hundreds of dead fish floating by the lake. Board officials told them that the fish were killed by the sudden dip in dissolved oxygen and the inflow of effluents and pesticides from nearby industrial units.

“The level of contamination has increased and the discharge is coming from Chandapura lake,” K.C. Santosh, an activist was quoted in the media on Tuesday. “This discharge is from the industrial unit located in and around the lake.”

Another major factor for the disappearance of lakes is the massive urban growth witnessed by the metropolis. Sprawling catchment areas have been overtaken by housing and commercial complexes with developers dumping construction material and other waste products, virtually blocking the flow of water and destroying biodiversity.