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Bengaluru’s Largest Lake Bellandur Goes Up In Flames Again As Pollution Goes Unchecked

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Bengaluru’s Largest Lake Bellandur Goes Up In Flames Again As Pollution Goes Unchecked

A water body going up in flames may seem unusual, but it is becoming a regular occurrence at  Bellandur lake of Bengaluru, Karnataka. On Friday, January 19, it caught fire for the third time.

The blaze was so intense, it took over 5,000 armymen and firefighters more than seven hours to bring it under control, NDTV reported. Huge plumes of smoke could be seen billowing over the lake even from a distance, said media reports.

The lake, spread over 3.61 sq km – about 1000 acres – in the suburb of Bellandur in the southeast of the city of Bengaluru, is a part of Bellandur drainage system that drains the southern and the south-eastern parts of the city and is the largest lake in the city.

Infamous for severe pollution and froth that spills over, major fires had broken out in the lake earlier on February 16 and May 7, 2017, following which the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had rolled out orders on shutting down industries near Bellandur lake. The lake receives about 40 per cent of the city’s sewage.

In August it spewed out so much toxic foam that residents living nearby complained they had to stay indoors.

On Friday, a major blaze and massive plumes of smoke were first spotted in the morning. While fire tenders were sent to the spot, the vehicles could not access the point of the blaze, said media reports quoting officials.

The fire began, reportedly, in the grasslands by the banks of the massive lake. Later in the afternoon, the fire started spreading into the Iblur firing range of the army.

Army personnel, firefighters with fire fighting equipment tried to douse the flames. A jet fighter engine that can throw water up to 300 metres was rushed in to fight the fire. An army man was bitten by a snake during the operation as the heat from the fire forced several reptiles out of the lake, Major General Narpat Singh Rajpurohit, commandant of the Army Service Corps Centre told NDTV.

The flames were doused on Friday evening, but started again later in the evening in two places, said media reports. The second fire was put out late Friday night, said media reports.

“The fire, which had come up to the perimeter of the army land, has been put out due to the untiring efforts of more than 5,000 army personnel and fire fighting equipment of the ASC College and Centre,” said a statement by the defence forces.

Environmentalists blame the practice of dumping untreated sewage and pollutants in the lakes for the severe pollution.

In April 2017, the National Green Tribunal had ordered the Karnataka government to shut down all industrial units around the Bellandur lake. It had also announced a fine of Rs 5 lakh to be imposed on anyone dumping waste in and around the lake. Reports said the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) has been working to remove weeds and is using high-power pumps and coir foam mattresses and other filtering techniques to stop the frothing. It has had little impact.

The Environment Ministry had said in 2016 that everyday about 1,280 million litres of sewage is generated in Bengaluru, while the city’s infrastructure has the capacity to handle only 721 million litres of sewage. Since 137 out of 500 sewage treatment plants are defunct, only 600 million litres sewage is treated and the rest goes to the lakes.

The fire was testimony to the gathered pollution and decaying organic waste in the lake. While there are different takes about what started the fire, methane build-up in the lake is believed to have aggravated the blaze.

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Rahul Gandhi says air pollution in North India a national emergency, tourism declining, global reputation crumbling

“We need a collective national response, not political blame games,” the Congress leader said on his X handle.

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Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the air pollution in North India is a national emergency that needs a collective national response and not a political blame game. The Congress leader added that due to air pollution tourism is declining and “our global reputation is crumbling”.

It is a public health crisis that is stealing children’s future and suffocating the elderly, Gandhi said, adding an environmental and economic disaster that is ruining countless lives.

“As Parliament meets in a few days, MPs will all be reminded of the crisis by our irritated eyes and sore throats. It is our responsibility to come together and discuss how India can end this crisis once and for all,” the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha said.

The former Congress chief said the poorest “among us suffer the most”, unable to escape the toxic air surrounding them. Families are gasping for clean air, children are falling sick, and millions of lives are being cut short, he added.

The Rae Bareli MP noted that the pollution cloud covers hundreds of kilometres. He said cleaning it up will require major changes and decisive action from governments, companies, experts, and citizens.

“We need a collective national response, not political blame games,” the Congress leader said on his X handle.

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Indian Navy submarine collides with fishing boat near Goa coast, 2 fishermen missing

A spokesperson from the Navy told the media that eleven crew have been rescued so far.

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Indian Navy submarine collides with fishing boat near Goa coast, 2 fishermen missing

Indian Navy officials on Friday said that an Indian fishing vessel with a crew of 13 collided with an Indian Naval submarine near the Goa coast. 

Following the incident, a massive search and rescue operation has been launched by the Indian Navy, which has deployed six ships and aircraft. Reportedly, while 11 crew have been rescued, two are still missing.

The Ministry of Defence issued a statement and said that the vessel, Marthoma, collided with a Scorpene-class submarine about 70 nautical miles off the Goa coast. It added that search and rescue efforts for the remaining two are underway and are being coordinated with Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre Mumbai (MRCC). It further mentioned that additional assets including from the Coast Guard have been diverted to the area to augment the efforts.

The statement said that the cause of the incident is being investigated. Notably, Scorpene-class submarines are a major part of India’s naval power in the Indian Ocean as they can undertake multifarious types of missions, including anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, mine laying, and area surveillance.

Reports said that the state-of-the-art technology utilised for the construction of the Scorpene-class submarines has ensured superior stealth features such as advanced acoustic silencing techniques, low radiated noise levels, hydro-dynamically optimized shape and the ability to launch a crippling attack on the enemy using precision-guided weapons. Furthermore, the attack can be launched with both torpedoes and tube-launched anti-ship missiles, whilst underwater or on the surface.

Meanwhile, the Indian Navy in its statement said that 13 crew members were aboard the fishing vessel at the time of the collision. It added that while 11 crew have been rescued so far, two fishermen are still reported missing.

A spokesperson from the Navy told the media that eleven crew have been rescued so far. He stated that search and rescue efforts for the remaining two crew members of Marthoma are in progress and are being coordinated with the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC), Mumbai. Additional assets including from the Coast Guard have been diverted to the area to augment the efforts, he continued.

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10 Naxalites killed in encounter in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma

The District Reserve Guard (DRG) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) continue their search operation in the area.

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Ten Naxalites were killed in an encounter with security forces in the Sukma district of Chhattisgarh on Friday.

The confrontation started in the morning within a forest area under the jurisdiction of the Bhejji police station, where a joint operation was being conducted by security personnel as part of an anti-Naxalite initiative, according to Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) Sundarraj P. 

This operation was initiated following intelligence regarding the presence of Maoists connected to the Konta and Kistaram area committees, situated in the forested regions around Korajguda, Dantespuram, Nagaram, and Bhandarpadar villages.

So far, the bodies of ten Naxalites have been recovered at the scene. Additionally, a significant cache of weapons was seized, including an INSAS rifle, an AK-47, and a Self Loading Rifle (SLR). 

The District Reserve Guard (DRG) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) continue their search operation in the area. This incident contributes to the year-to-date total of 207 Naxalite fatalities recorded in various clashes across the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, comprising seven districts. 

On Wednesday, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai met with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the national capital, North Block. Their discussion focused on developmental progress in Naxal-affected areas of Chhattisgarh and efforts aimed at enhancing peace and stability in these regions. 

The Chief Minister emphasised that both the state government and security forces are diligently working to eradicate Naxal influence in Chhattisgarh, aligning with the Union Home Minister’s commitment to eliminate Naxalism by 2026.

“I met with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and updated him about the Naxal activities in Chhattisgarh. Over the past 11 months, close to 200 Naxals have been neutralized, and approximately 600-700 have surrendered. We are making significant strides towards the goal set by the Prime Minister and Home Minister to achieve a Naxal-free India by March 2026,” CM Sai told reporters following the meeting.

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