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Bengaluru Lakes Spew Unprecedented Amounts Of Foam, Engulfing Cars, Roads and Homes

What a mess!
Twitter/ANI

Bengaluru's lakes belching out toxic foam is not something new, but this month things have gotten from bad to worse. Two lakes in the city -- Varthur Lake and Bellandur Lake -- have been overflowing with toxic foams and reports suggest it has affected vehicular traffic and residents living close to the lakes.

NDTV reported some witnesses as saying the foam from Varthur lake was high enough to rise upto a two-story building.

The foam, that outflows from the lakes from time to time, is said to be the result of unhindered toxic chemical waste from factories being dumped into the lake. Apart from that sewage and human waste are also dumped into the lake.

Photos tweeted out by ANI show that the foam had engulfed the streets causing a traffic snarl.

Residents say the foam in the lake has been around for a long time, and rains in the last few days have made the water-level of the lake rise, making the foam flow onto the streets.

The news agency also quoted a resident of the city, Jitesh, as saying, "This foam problem has been there for a very long time. Due to heavy rains for the past two days, the water level has increased and now the foam has overloaded the whole bridge. Because of this, it is difficult for commuters to drive on the road. The residents are also trying hard to solve this matter."

NDTV reports that the foam in the Varthur Lake rose to over 10-feet in height and spilled over a fence built around the lake to stop the foam from flowing onto the streets.

The Hindustan Times also reported residents as saying the froth was blowing into their homes.

A video tweeted by ANI showed cars on Bengaluru's Yemalur bridge disappearing behind the foam.

And while foam from lakes has been a problem for years, there has hardly been any action from the government.

The Indian Express reported Siddaramaiah that the problem will be solved in one or two days, and that the "government is taking all necessary actions".

The National Green Tribunal had pulled up the Karnataka government and civic bodies over the issue in May.

"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 had said.

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