page_title: Bellandur Lake
section_title: Impact of urbanisation
hierarchical_section_title: Bellandur Lake / Impact of urbanisation
caption_attribution_description: English: An imbalance in the lake's nitrogen and potassium level due to sewage dumping has effected the plant cover of the lake. These pollutants-nutrients encourage the constant growth of plants over the lake surface, reducing oxygen levels and killing fish as well as other aquatic life. Local villagers manually remove the plant on a daily basis to clear the lake's surface.
context_page_description: Bellandur Lake is a lake in the suburb of Bellandur in the southeast of the city of Bengaluru and is the largest lake in the city. It was used for landing amphibious aircraft during British rule .It is a part of Bellandur drainage system that drains the southern and the south-eastern parts of the city. The lake is a receptor from three chains of lakes upstream, and has a catchment area of about 148 square kilometres. Water from this lake flows further east to the Varthur Lake, from where it flows down the plateau and eventually into the Pinakani river basin. It is currently highly polluted with sewage, and in May 2015 the foam covering the water surface caught fire and burned for hours.
  The lake caught fire again in January 2018.
context_section_description: The problem goes back to 1980s when unplanned growth broke the chain of tanks and lakes feeding the Bellandur lake. This reduced the amount of rain water reaching the lake to recharge it. The development also resulted in letting in untreated sewage water from housing societies and using the lake surrounding area to dump solid waste. Even industries from surrounding areas started dumping their waste into the lake. The combination of all these factors has led to a decline in the once robust ecosystem of the lake which now resembles a stinking cesspool. Residents in neighboring areas complain of an odious stench that rises from the lake as a result of uninhibited sewage and chemical dumping from near by industrial units. The presence of industrial chemicals in the water causes the lake surface to catch fire regularly.
  The main source of the problem comes from the fact that the lake doesn't completely come under any one civic body. The lake is under the jurisdiction of multiple agencies and civic bodies thus leading to lack of accountability.
caption: Locals remove the plant cover on a daily basis, but it grows back rapidly, killing fish and aquatic life.
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