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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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JMM-RJD-Congress are supporters of Bangladesh infiltrators: PM Modi at Jharkhand rally

Narendra Modi further claimed that if the bad policies of JMM, Congress and RJD continue, the adivasi society in Jharkhand will shrink

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JMM-RJD-Congress are supporters of Bangladesh infiltrators: PM Modi at Jharkhand rally

Ahead of the Jharkhand Assembly election, PM Narendra Modi launched a scathing attack on the incumbent Hemant Soren government, accusing it to put appeasement at the top of its agenda.

While addressing a rally in Jharkhand’s Garhwa, the Prime Minister said the coalition government of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Congress and RJD are supporters of Bangladesh infiltrators. He said that the JMM-RJD-Congress government has taken appeasement to its peak, and that these parties are destroying the state’s social harmony. He alleged that the parties are supporters of infiltrators, and to get votes of Bangladesh infiltrators, they are getting them settled across Jharkhand.

The Prime Minister stated that when schools disallow Saraswati Vandana, one can imagine how big the danger is. When there is stone-pelting during festivals, Maa Durga is stopped and curfew is imposed, one knows how dangerous it is, he continued. The Prime Minister also added that when the issue of infiltration goes to court and the administration denies, it becomes clear that the government machinery has been infiltrated. PM Modi was referring to allegations that a Muslim teacher stopped prayers to Goddess Saraswati at a school in Jharkhand’s Giridih.

Narendra Modi further claimed that if the bad policies of JMM, Congress and RJD continue, the adivasi society in Jharkhand will shrink, and advised people to use their vote to uproot this infiltrator coalition. He maintained that Jharkhand’s swift development is possible only if it has a government that expedites the implementation of central schemes.

Referring to the JMM’s decision to replace Champai Soren as Chief Minister after Hemant Soren was granted bail in a money laundering case, PM Modi said that the party has left no stones unturned in humiliating an adivasi son. He asked how the party will take care of the people of the state when nothing matters to them more than family. He added that he does not have a family, and the people are his family. He also mentioned that Champai Soren, once a trusted lieutenant of Hemant Soren, is now with the BJP.

Slamming the ruling coalition of corruption, he said that corruption hollows out the country like termites, and destroys the poor, Dalits, people from backward classes and tribals. He claimed that Jharkhand has seen for five years the corruption of the JMM-Congress-RJD government.

He also referred to the massive cash haul from the home of Congress’s former Rajya Sabha MP Dhiraj Sahu last year. Mentioning that mountains of cash are recovered from the home of Congress’s Rajya Sabha MP, he questioned if this money didn’t belong to Jharkhand.

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Ruckus in Jammu and Kashmir Assembly over resolution against Article 370 abrogation

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah addressing the session, said that the resolution has no importance and it is only for the cameras.

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Ruckus in Jammu and Kashmir Assembly over resolution against Article 370 abrogation

Jammu and Kashmir Assembly on Monday witnessed chaos after People’s Democratic Party (PDP) MLA Waheed Para moved a resolution opposing the abrogation of Article 370 and called for restoring the union territory’s special status.

Waheed Para, the PDP MLA from the Pulwama Assembly seat, submitted the resolution to newly elected Speaker, Abdul Rahim Rather and requested for a discussion on the matter during the five-day session, despite not being a part of the agenda.

It was submitted that although the agenda of the House has been finalised, they believe that the authority as the Speaker allows the inclusion of the resolution, as it reflects the sentiment of the people at large. After the resolution was submitted, all 28 Jammu and Kashmir BJP MLAs stood up to oppose the move, leading to noisy scenes inside the Assembly.

As the members protested, BJP MLA Sham Lal Sharma demanded Para’s suspension for bringing the resolution in violation of Assembly rules. The agitation continued even after the Speaker repeatedly requested the protesting members to take their seats. He asserted the resolution has not come to him yet and when it does, he would examine it.

While the BJP members refused to call off their protest, National Conference MLAs slammed them for interrupting the proceedings of the House. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah addressing the session, said that the resolution has no importance and it is only for the cameras.

The Chief Minister added that how the House will reflect and discuss this matter will not be decided by any one member. If there was a purpose behind the resolution, then they would have discussed this with the government before, he continued.

Nonetheless, CM Abdullah also admitted that the people of Jammu and Kashmir do not approve of the decision taken on August 5, 2019, when Article 370 was abrogated. Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha also said that his government will make all efforts for the restoration of full statehood. He mentioned that restoration of full statehood would be a reciprocation of the faith reposed by the people of Jammu and Kashmir in democratic institutions.

Meanwhile, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti expressed that she was proud of Waheed Para for submitting the resolution.

Notably, Article 370 was a provision in the Constitution that granted special autonomy to the region of Jammu and Kashmir. It also allowed the state to have its own constitution, flag, and autonomy over internal matters except defense, communications, and foreign affairs.

However, the Centre on August 5, 2019 revoked Article 370, effectively removing the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and reorganising it into two Union Territories namely, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

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20 killed after bus falls into gorge near Uttarakhand’s Pauri-Almora border, CM Dhami expresses grief

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has announced financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh each for the families of the deceased and Rs 1 lakh each for the injured.

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20 killed after bus falls into gorge near Uttarakhand’s Pauri-Almora border, CM Dhami expresses grief

In a tragic incident, nearly 20 people were killed after a Garwal Motors Users bus fell into a 200-metre deep gorge near Uttarakhand’s Kupi in Ramnagar at Pauri-Almora border on Monday. The injured are being hurried to the hospital and a search operation is currently underway. At least 35 people were inside the bus when the accident occured.

The fatal accident was reported to authorities at around 9 am by passengers who had fallen from the bus during the accident. Police and teams from National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) are at the accident site in Marchula’s Salt area. 

Speaking to the media, District Magistrate Alok Kumar Pandey said that the bus was going from Garhwal to Kumaon where the accident took place at Marchula in Almora. Sanjay Kumar, Salt Sub-District Magistrate stated that some of the passengers have been rescued and admitted to hospital. 

Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has announced financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh each for the families of the deceased and Rs 1 lakh each for the injured. The Chief Minister also directed the Commissioner of the Kumaon division to carry out a magisterial inquiry into the incident. 

Taking to social media platform X, CM Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed grief, and said that a very sad news has been received about the casualties of passengers in the unfortunate bus accident that took place in Marchula of Almora district. He added that the district administration has been instructed to carry out relief and rescue operations swiftly. 

Furthermore, CM Dhami stated that the local administration and SDRF teams at the accident site are working rapidly to evacuate the injured and take them to the nearest health centre for treatment. He mentioned that instruction have also been given to airlift seriously injured passengers if required. 

In a tweet, the Prime Minister’s office also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF for the next of kin of each deceased in the mishap in Almora, adding that the injured would be given Rs 50,000.

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