“Thousands of saplings will be planted at the landfill site. Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited itself will plant 50-60 saplings,” said Bengaluru Urban deputy commissioner J Manjunath.
The Karnataka government has decided to plant thousands of trees at the Bingipura landfill in Anekal taluk. The Bingipura lake, which had been contaminated due to unscientific disposal of waste for years, was rejuvenated last month.
“The lake was contaminated due to the leachate entering the lake and soil from the dumping ground. There were issues of fish kill also. The lake was restored using a natural filtration process. Sustainable techniques including natural sewage treatment were adopted to decontaminate the lake,” Bengaluru Urban deputy commissioner J Manjunath told The Indian Express.
“Thousands of saplings will be planted at the landfill site. Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited itself will plant 50-60 saplings,” he added.
Two decades ago, Bingipura lake was a source of drinking water. However, in 2012 a site near the lake was used as a landfill by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). The site used to receive approximately 900 tonnes of waste daily from 2012 to 2015.
Deputy conservator of forest Sheshi C said that the forest department has planted more than 900 saplings around the lake. “In Bangalore South taluk the panchayat showed us the site where we take the gundu thopu (a type of land preserved by the government for green patch, mini forest to conserve flora fauna). In Anekal, perhaps next year we can work on this, not immediately. Around the lake we have already planted 900 saplings,” he added.
The villagers of Bingipura over the years have been highlighting the ramifications of the landfill which has contaminated the groundwater. In 2015, the former BBMP administrator Vijay Bhaskar stated that the groundwater in the area was unfit for human consumption.
Anekal Taluk Environment Protection Federation founder Captain (retd) Santhosh Kumar said that similar steps are imperative to save the lung space of the city. “The government lands need to be protected. This is how steps towards urban forestry can be taken and the state should protect these mini-forest areas. This should not be limited to photo ops,” Kumar added.
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