There is a lake in my house!

As people of localities flooded by the breaching of the Hulimavu lake, are struggling to come to terms with the loss of their property and other valuables in the water that rushed into their homes Sunday,  the police are still unclear about who was responsible for the disaster. They, have, however, have ruled out any deliberate tampering of the bund by mischief- makers.  

As water gushed out of the lake, the city’s second largest water body after Bellandur, spread over 140 acres, as many as 630 houses were damaged and 180 people were made homeless. In all, over a 1,000 have paid for the carelessness of the individual or authority  responsible for the breach.

Deputy Commissioner of Police, South East Division, Isha Pant, said preliminary investigation had revealed  there was some construction work underway on the lake, but the police had still not been able to establish the cause of the breach. “The BBMP has, however, filed an FIR against a person and a BWSSB official,” the officer added.

Meanwhile, with the BBMP hurrying to build a temporary bund, the flood  receded in the areas surrounding  the lake. Said BBMP Chief Engineer (lakes), Mohan Krishna, “We have constructed the bund  to arrest the flow of water .  The good thing about this lake is that it has a natural waste weir. Our priority is to repair the damage.  While  we are still awaiting government approval to carry out the restoration work,  we hope to finish the repairs in two or three weeks.”

The breaching of the lake bund is bad news for the BBMP as it has been its custodian since 2017.  Not surprisingly, it received a telling off by Lokayukta Justice Vishwanath Shetty, who warned it to make sure that such an incident never occurred in the city again.

“I have been monitoring the lake since September 2018 in response to  a complaint. Although  the matter is under investigation and we must take care not to implicate innocent officers, we need to ensure that remedial measures are taken. Not only is the BWSSB,  but the BBMP too is responsible. The real reason behind the breach should be established with the help of police and the perpetrators  tried as per the law,” he stressed.

State revenue minister, R Ashok, who visited the spot, said all lakes would be handed over to the BBMP for better coordination.