From safeguarding borders to protecting natural resources, read how Madras Sappers stepped in to revive Halasuru lake

About 1000 Madras Sappers of the Indian Army, who use the Halasuru lake for their training activities, cleaned the lake and removed 100 tonnes of toxic waste.

Bengaluru, formerly known as the city of lakes, has very few lakes left now. A study conducted by Energy and Wetlands Research Group, Centre for Ecological Sciences and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) on the condition of lakes in Bengaluru shows that 90 percent of the lakes are polluted, and nearly 98 percent were encroached by the land mafia.

To make sure the existing lakes don’t become a thing of the past, 1,000 thambis (sappers) of the Madras Sappers (MEG) of the Indian Army came forward and cleaned the Halasuru lake (Ulsoor) for eight hours and removed a mammoth 100 tonnes of waste.

This is the second time the sappers have cleaned the lake. Earlier, in May this year, they had taken up the cleaning task and had extracted nearly 70 tonnes of waste from the lake. The waste was reported to be from the BBMP sediment tank.

Located at the heart of the city, Halasuru lake has been subjected to toxic weeds and garbage disposals for some time now. Nearby residents found it no less than a miracle when the men in uniform took the matter into their hands.

MEG, in an official statement, said,

“The stench and filth are overpowering the lake, where people dump garbage. The soldiers fished out the plastic dumped along with household rubbish, rotting vegetables and also hospital waste. It is not an easy task. It has been 10 months now since the MEG men took up the cleaning operation at the lake."

Post the cleaning of the tank, the MEG further warned stating,

"People should understand that it is not the business of the Army to clean the garbage. Civil authorities order the cleaning of the lake every time, but little happens on ground. It is finally left to the brave soldiers to safeguard not only the nation’s frontiers, but its precious resources to."

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