Bellandur lake may provide electricity to Bengaluru and Kolar; companies from across the world show interest

Tuesday March 28, 2017 , 3 min Read

Bellandur Lake has been a topic of major concern for a while now. The lake, which has gone up in flames not once, but thrice, could very well be a cry for help on behalf of other dying lakes of the country. The infamous accumulated foam in the lake has been the reason behind two of these three incidents, and was an ignored issue till the sight of a lake being on fire caught everyone's attention. However, recently, the interest shown by many countries in a solution lying in these waters lends a fresh perspective to the issue.

Pedestrians covering their noses against the stench emanating from Bellandur Lake. (Manjunath Kiran / AFP/Getty Images)

Around 500 MLD (million litres per day) of sewage is dumped into the lake on a daily basis. This sewage, which has become fermentage over the decades, is now being seen as a major opportunity by many all over the world. A firm based in New Delhi named AG Dauters seems to be the latest one to join the club of those firms who are interested in reaping the benefits of the lake.

While speaking to the Bangalore Mirror, Ajay Girotra, Managing Director of the firm, said,

This sewage filled with chemicals has the potential to transform the lake into one of the largest energy fields in the world.

The firm wants to set up plants on the lakebed. The firm has already given a presentation of their idea before the Energy Minister, D.K. Shivkumar. The firm believes that the lake can be used to provide medical-grade drinking water to the entire Bengaluru and Kolar region regularly, along with generating electricity for both Bengaluru and New Delhi. It is expected that it will generate over 5,000 MW of power each day.

The Energy Minister also tweeted regarding the meeting he had with Ajay Girotra.

Had a discussion with Mr. Ajay Girotra, AG Dauters MD, for saving Bengaluru's Bellandur Lake from Polluted Water & generating Energy from it pic.twitter.com/aIeuERxHe8
— DK Shivakumar (@DKShivakumar) March 25, 2017

They have proposed the use of a US-Germany based technology for the treatment of lakes. Speaking about the proposal and the technology, Ajay told Bangalore Mirror,

I was told there are two inlets into the lake, and we want two acres on the banks of these inlets to set up the plant. We do not want anything from the government. But it must enter into an agreement with us to buy water, power, and fuel, through which we get back our investment of Rs 40,000 crore. Adopting our plasma gasification technology, which is proven and presently the most advanced technology in the world, we can extract power, water, and fuel with zero discharge.

The Karnataka State Industries and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd. (KSIIDC), with the help of a British industry, has also expressed an interest in working on the rejuvenation of the lake. The Chairman of KSIIDC, C.M. Dhananjay, told The Hindu,

I have written to the Chief Minister to make KSIIDC the nodal agency to rejuvenate the lake. The corporation has the technical expertise to clean up the lake, and will provide a single-window system to expedite the rejuvenation.

With so many showing an interest in finding a solution to a problem that has long been bothering people, we can hope to see a change in the positive direction soon.

Also read: Amidst the chaos of murky, foamy, and fiery lakes, can a solution be found?

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