Ganapati idol immersion continues despite ban

Despite ban, immersion of Ganpati idols made of PoP continue in Bengaluru lakes

According to data released by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, a total of 2,08,585 idols were immersed in Bengaluru lakes this year on the first day of the Ganesh festival. Despite the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board’s ban on the immersion of idols made of Plaster of Paris, more than 12000 of them were immersed in the lakes. According to Ramprasad of the activist group, Friends of Lakes, the State Pollution Control Board is doing nothing to stop the violators who are immersing PoP idols.

Mumbai's lakes are almost full with water

According to the estimates of the civic officials, the lakes supplying water to Mumbai city are 95 percent full this year and therefore, no water cut is expected. Three lakes--Tansa, Modak Sagar and Tulsi--have already started overflowing while the Bhatsa lake, which caters to nearly 50 percent of the city’s potable water needs, is also 93 percent full. Compared to the last two years, the current water levels in the lakes are the highest this year.

High forest cover equals less flood damage: Study

As per a study conducted by experts from IIT-Kharagpur, the states with high forest cover are more likely to cope with the damage caused by floods. The study, which was done from 1998 to 2011, indicated that a forest cover tends to protect human lives and reduce the adverse consequences of floods significantly. In states like West Bengal and Uttarakhand, it has been found that the forest cover helped decline the flood damage. In the case of Madhya Pradesh, which has recorded the highest average forest cover, flood damage has increased for the study period despite increasing forest cover. 

After Bengaluru's lakes, Telangana's lakes spew toxic foam

Last week, five lakes in Hyderabad in Telangana--Parkhi Cheruvu, Nalla Cheruvu, Quthubullapur, Hasmatpet and Imbrahim Cheruvu--started spewing toxic foam. This aggravated after the rains, taking the foam formation to a height of 10 feet. Untreated sewage water flows into Hasmatpet lake which then flows into the Hussainsagar lake. A pig farm located near the lake also dumps waste into it. As per the locals, the civic body has been ignoring the requests to clean up the lakes. 

Saline water ingression reported in Chennai's groundwater

Several areas in Chennai like Nungambakkam, Aminjikarai, Ashok Nagar and Rangarajapuram in Kodambakkam are getting saline water from deeper borewells. As per the hydrogeologist J. Saravanan, the situation is alarming as the salinity levels in the groundwater are more than twice that of permissible drinking water standards. The reason for increased salinity has been attributed to the rampant extraction of groundwater which is leading to salt water intrusion. 

This is a roundup of important news from August 22 - 28, 2017. Also, read the policy matters this week. 

Lead image source: Wikimedia commons via Chetan Gole