Marshals guard Bengaluru lakes; keep a check on waste dumpers, impose penalty

Following the guidelines of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) have taken measures to protect Varthur and Bellanduru lake with fencing, installing CCTV cameras and deploying marshals. People are already witnessing results. A week after 21 marshals took over the guarding job at Varthur lake, tractors, vehicles plying near the lake premises with commuters dumping waste, debris and poultry waste are caught and are made to cough up hefty fines.

Out of 21 marshals, 8 are from defence and NCC background. The irony is that the initiative to guard and protect the lake has not been undertaken by BDA or BBMP voluntarily. It’s only after NGT pulled them up for gross negligence in terms of Bellanduru and Varthur lake pollution, that some action is now being witnessed.