Bangalore:
A small fire which broke out in the polluted Bellandur Lake of Bengaluru on Friday afternoon around 1 pm turned into a major fire when it spread to the surrounding dry land.
It took eight hours for the Karnataka Fire Service Department to douse the fire. The Army was pressed into the rescue and relief operations as well.Â
Major General NS Rajpurohit, Commandant ASC Centre and College Bengaluru said, "The fire broke out on the lake, in the vicinity of the Army area around noon and the alert troops immediately swung into action to prevent its spread into Army and adjoining civil areas. Around 5000 personnel of ASC were pressed into the action. As of 2000 hours, the fire was brought under control.â€
As per the preliminary information, fire started from the middle of the lake which had a dry grass patch and within no time spread to the adjoining areas due to which it became difficult to douse it off.
Speaking with News Nation, Soumendho Mukherjee, IG Karnataka Department of Fire Services said, “In the evening, we received a message about the fire in the Bellandur Lake area. We immediately sent a dozen fire service vehicles to douse off the fire. The biggest challenge was to reach the middle of the lake since it is surrounded by marshy land. We had to use our modern equipment which can throw water up to 300 meters with foam.â€
Reason behind #BellandurLake fire yet to be found, says Lt. Gen. #VipinGuptahttps://t.co/UDfebrT8xJ
— News Nation (@NewsNationTV) January 20, 2018
During the operation, one army personnel was bitten by a snake. He was immediately shifted to command hospital for further treatment where his condition is said to be stable.
This is not the first time when fire has broken out at Bellandur Lake. Earlier also, fire has been reported in and around the lake many times. Bellandur Lake is one of the most polluted lakes of Bengaluru which is always full of foam due to the chemical reactions in the water. On the directions of National Green Tribunal, Karnataka Government had started the cleaning of Bellandur Lake last year.
