Bengaluru's Varthur Lake Caught Fire Again & Authorities Are Clueless On What Is Causing It

Yet another outbreak of fire at Bengaluru's Varthur Lake has raised some serious question on the competence of authorities to protect the water body from becoming a waste dump.

The Varthur Lake caught fire on Sunday afternoon and thick smoke and fire continued to rise from the lake for almost five hours before it was finally put out. A photo of four fine men at the spot looking helplessly at the blaze summed up the magnitude of the incident.

BCCL

Though this is not the first time Varthur Lake has caught fire, locals say the outbreak on Sunday wasn't anything like what happened in the past.

"Incidents of fire at Varthur Lake has been happening since 2015. It used to be a blue flame. But this time we could clearly see an orange colour flame which means that the fire was caused by hydrocarbon material like the garbage which is dumped in the lake," Jagadish Reddy, the warden of the lake told Indiatimes.

BCCL

The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), which is the custodian of the lake has, however, blamed locals burning the grass there for the fire.

"The fire broke out in an area which was difficult to access. This is a wetland, surrounded by water. The fire burned for almost five hours and the smoke even spread to neighbouring residential areas. We have been doing research on the lake for more than 15 years. It is not easy to draw conclusions on what caused the fire on Sunday," Reddy said.

BCCL

He also added that the fire is different from what is happening in Bellandur, another waterbody which is infamous for fire incidents.

"In Bellandur Lake there is a huge dump of garbage which emits flammable gases and any spark could result in a fire on the grass there. But in Varthur the scenario is different. It is a watershed, surrounded by a waterbody. It is a matter of concern when a wetland surrounded by water catches fire," he said.

Despite the BDA saying that the fire was accidental and they are not going to investigate it further, locals and activists are not convinced. They have collected samples from the spot and sent them to the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board for examination.

BCCL

The latest incident of fire at Varthur also shows the failure of the authorities to implement a National Green Tribunal order which banned the dumping of all kind of industrial and non-industrial waste in the water bodies.

Reddy alleged that despite the NGT order, garbage, construction and demolition waste are still being dumped in the lake.

"This is a clear case of contempt of court. The NGT clearly said that there should not be aby dumping of any garbage and a 75-meter buffer zone should be maintained. But unfortunately, no one including the state government is interested in executing it," he alleged.

BCCL

He also alleged that the attempts to clean up the lake has yet to produce any outcome.

"There was a citizen initiative and there was a company which came forward to fund it under CSR. But not much has been done due to the red tapes. Agencies like BDA and BBMP has so far done little in this regard," he said.

BCCL/ FILE

Varthur along with Bellandur has been dubbed as the most polluted water bodies in Bengaluru. The two lakes initially made headlines for spitting out toxic foam from the polluted waters, which spilled over to the roads and neighbouring residential complexes.

This was followed by reports of frequent fires, including the one in January 2018 where a fire in Bellandur Lake that burned for 10 hours.