Heavy rain triggers Bengaluru's Bellandur Lake to spill 10-ft high toxic foam

Bengaluru: Bellandur Lake in Bengaluru on Tuesday again spewed large quantities of toxic foam, reaching the nearby busy roads.

Triggered by heavy rain, the foam, reportedly reached a height of 10 feet in places. Pieces of odoriferous foam carried up in the air also spread through the area creating problems for locals and commuters.

Constant discharge of untreated sewage has turned the lake, located in the suburb of Bellandur to the southeast of Bengaluru, into one of the most polluted waterbodies around.

Earlier in 2018, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) termed the condition of the lake as an "environmental emergency" and said that the "sheer callousness and indifference" of the authorities was to blame.

The NGT had also criticised the Karnataka government for its action plan for the lake.

The largest lake in the city has been rapidly losing its water capacity as people continue to discard all manner of waste in it, including construction waste, and municipal solid waste. Additionally, aquatic plants too grow in abundance in the waterbody.

A report filed before the NGT had said, "After an almost circumferential tour of the lake, the commission further observed that there is not even one millilitre of clean water in the lake, but the same was filled up with sewage, effluent, solid waste, weed, debris, etc.," news agency PTI reported.

On several occasions, the toxic lake has also caught fire, which led to massive public outrage.