Bengaluru: Toxic froth to welcome Pravasi Bharathiya Divas delegates

Members of citizen's action forum 'Whitefield rising' took to social media to mock the government for preparing for an international event but ignoring its own citizens.

While the Karnataka government is all set to host the Pravasi Bharathiya Divas in Bengaluru starting Saturday, Varthur lake in the city is producing toxic froth to welcome the delegates. Over the last one week, toxic foam from the lake is not only spilling on to the streets but is flying in the air landing on animals, motorists and pedestrians alike.

Members of citizen's action forum 'Whitefield rising' took to social media to mock the government for preparing for an international event but ignoring its own citizens. The forum has been highlighting the plight of citizens around Varthur and Bellandur lakes in Bengaluru that are largely covered by foam due to heavy pollution through the year.

"Global Indians, if you want to experience snowfall, do visit Varthur kodi. Neglect by different government agencies continues and the regulators continue to hesitate to ensure that polluters pay," said a member of Whitefield rising. Citizens also lamented about how a valuable resource that could be reused is allowed to be polluted leading to health hazards and is the worst example of government's disengagement. Members of the citizen's forum told OneIndia that the pathetic situation of the lake was also due to lack of government commitment to remove roadblocks that are in the way of leveraging CSR funds in solving the problem too.

Karnataka's tourism minister R V Deshpande visited the venue for Pravasi Bharatiya Divas on Thursday to take stock of the situation. "Let the city look beautiful", he told officials from the BBMP, BDA and NHAI. The BBMP and BDA that are responsible for Varthur and Bellandur lake, however, have done precious little to stop pollutants from entering the lake leave alone taking up cleanliness drives.

OneIndia News