The once-pristine 57-acre Kacharakanahalli lake has been turned into a virtual landfill with the Bangalore Development Authority dumping mud and debris into it, gobbling up almost one third of the water body. Another part of the lake has a temple, a dhobi ghat, a slum and small patch of greenery.

The Supreme Court, in its landmark judgement in the case of Animal and Environment Legal Defence Fund vs Union of India,1997, and Susetha vs the State of Tamil Nadu, 2006, had pointed out that conservation of a lake was an equal responsibility of both the State and the citizens. But in 2011, the BDA in blatant violation of the top court’s verdict, went ahead and implemented its 1984-85 plan of converting the lake into a civic amenities site instead of reviving it.

Covered in rashes all over his body, Narayanappa resembles a man recovering from burns. He developed the rashes following de-weeding work at Dorekere lake in ttarahalli.

This despite having applied mixture of pongamia and neem oil to protect himself from leeches infesting the highly contaminated lake. “The oil mixture lasts only for an hour but burns my skin. Once the oil layer is gone, leeches cling to my skin and suck my blood,” says Narayanappa. One among a dozen labourers from Mandya assigned the task to de-weed the lake, Narayanappa has been into de-weeding water bodies for many years. It takes a month to clean a water body.

Hyderabad: APPCB Task Force, on Friday reportedly directed immediate closure of about 25 polluting units operating within 10km radius of Osmansagar (Gandipet) and Himayats-agar lakes, the main source of drinking water to the city for not shifting despite repeated notices.

APPCB Task Force reportedly decided to cut off the power of these polluting industries as per the provisions. Leading vaccination companies including the government-owned Indian Immunologicals Limited and others having a foreign partnership in addition to some other government undertakings are amongf:\page3 a total of 55 shortlisted units which are in the process of shifting, have been given some grace period, sources say.

Sasthamcotta Lake managed to remain a freshwater body for long owing to the virtual absence of nutrients in it.

The High Court of Karnataka has directed the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to submit the status report on illegal dumping of debris and waste in Subramanyapura Lake in Uttarahalli of Bangalore South.

Hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) on the garbage crisis in the City on December 13, the Division Bench of Justice N Kumar and B V Nagarathna took note of the Deccan Herald report on illegal dumping of debris and garbage in the lake.

Hyderabad: As the government is planning to go liberal regarding the environmental violations by bulk drug units, the international community has taken up cudgels against the pollution caused by them.

Professor Hans Lofgren, of the Deakin University of Australia said that he will make a representation to his government to take up the issue and also sensitise the US and Sweden against “exporting pollution”. During his visit to some Medak villages located close to pharma units, Prof Lofgren was “shocked” by the extent of pollution and the sufferings of residents.

The Ambattur lake located on Thiruverkadu road, Ayappakkam, which once served as an important water resource for the surrounding areas, has now literally turned into an “open drainage.”

The highly-contaminated Subramanyapura Lake in the City is forcing flat-shelled turtles onto the roads, but the authorities do not seem to be bothered.

Stringent action against encroachers

District Collector P.G. Thomas has said that a monitoring committee has been constituted as part of the measures aimed at ending unauthorised granite quarrying and sand-mining in the district. He informed this after presiding over a meeting on Friday to discuss the problems posed by such activities.