Foam spilling out on Bengaluru roads, NGT raps K’taka govt

Bengaluru: The National Green Tribunal on Wednesday took Karnataka government and its civic authorities to task over foam spilling over into the streets in Bengaluru near the Varthur lake, causing massive traffic jams in the city.

“What is this going on? How are you getting so much of foam? Why can’t you remove the factor which generates foam? There are traffic jams which further leads to air pollution.

“First you put your lakes on fire and now cause traffic jam. You can’t do this. Look into this matter and resolve it,” a bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar said.

The observations came after a lawyer informed the bench that foams were being formed in the Varthur lake in the Whitefield area of Bengaluru once again after heavy pre- monsoon showers hit the city.

The foam from the lake had spilled on to the streets, causing inconvenience to commuters along the roads surrounding the lake, the lawyer said, adding that the unbearable stench emanating from the lake had added to the woes of the residents in the city.

The counsel appearing for the state pollution control board told the bench they were looking into the issue and would apprise the tribunal on the next date of hearing.

On February 20, the NGT had taken cognisance on its own of media reports and photographs of the incident in which a fire broke out in the Bengaluru’s Bellandur lake.

Thick clouds of white smoke persisted for several days in the air around the Bellandur Lake after the blaze.