Ulsoor lake pollution: NGT committee gives notice to BBMP

Bengaluru: The Joint Committee constituted by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to study the pollution of the Ulsoor lake in Bengaluru, has advised Bruhat Bengaluru MahanagaraPalike(BBMP) to modernize the slaughter house at Tannery Road by March 31, 2024.

The waste liquids and sewage from the slaughterhouse must be kept within the deadlines. The joint committee said in a report to the NGT that the BBMP should ensure that the slaughterhouse is fully modernized with long-term facilities such as biogas plant and sewage treatment plant for solid waste management. Also the BWSSB must ensure that the rainwater harvesting system is installed by the owner of residential buildings. The committee said that by March 31, 2023, the installation of silt traps and trash barriers in rainwater sewers would complete the installation of cascading aerators to eliminate treated sewage.

Until the slaughterhouse is modernized, transport the waste generated in the slaughterhouse to the common effluent treatment plant (CETP). The committee said in its latest recommendation that the BBMP should ensure that its processing is done there.

Prior to this, the South Committee of the National Green Tribunal formed a joint committee. The report also sought to submit a report on the causes and prevention measures for the Ulsoor lake pollution. The committee stated that the wastewater of the slaughterhouse was directly dumped into the lake because the STP was not functioning.

The committee's report stated that the BBMP hopes to modernize the slaughterhouse by providing new infrastructure for the modern slaughterhouse, including regulatory building, animal slaughter and meat processing plants. To study the bioaccumulation of heavy metals in the tissues of fishes in the Ulsoor lake and to monitor the water quality of the lake. The committee notified the Fisheries Department.