Thousands of fish found dead in a Bengaluru lake, Environment minister orders probe

Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on Monday ordered a probe into the incident of hundreds of dead fish being washed ashore at Ulsoor lake, a popular boating site in Bengaluru, and sought a report on it.

"I have visited Bengaluru twice and held meetings with all concerned authorities and officials, which includes Special Lake Development Authority, state government, plus Municipal Corporation and organisations responsible for maintaining the lake. They have given us a timelime on how to improve the quality of lakes. We are monitoring it."

"I have already ordered an inquiry and sought a report on the issue," Javadekar said. He said several parts of the IT city does not have proper drainage, and the sewage was being released into the lakes, hereby polluting the eco-system."

"The very fantastic eco-system of lakes in Bengaluru has been destroyed for the last 30 years gradually because (residential) colonies around it release the discharge not in the city drains. At many places, there are no city drains, so they release their discharge in the lakes."

"This is the condition we inherited and we are improving that," Javadekar said. The fish are believed to have died due to high levels of pollution into the lake. A tourism spot, Ulsoor lake had been choked with water hyacinth in recent years. The incident comes even as there is a growing concern by environmentalists over polluted lakes, exemplified by the thick froth and flames from the Yamlur lake that caused ripples in the city last year. "