The volunteers belong to the St Broseph Foundation, a non-governmental organisation founded by Dushyant Dubey. The foundation strives for women’s empowerment, civic and legal awareness, mental health support, student issues, legal support, career counselling, and support for victims of domestic violence.
As per the CPCB’s list, the five contaminated sites in the city are Goripalya near Mysore Road, Mangammanapalya near Hosur Road, Peenya Industrial Area, Mavallipura dumpsite near Yelahanka, and Begur Lake. The list of probable contaminated sites includes Lalbagh Lake, Madiwala Lake, Hebbal Lake, Bellandur Lake, Kengeri Tank, Arekere Lake, Agara Lake, and Begur Lake.
Contaminated sites are delineated areas in which the constituents and characteristics of the toxic and hazardous substances, caused by humans, exist at levels and in conditions that pose existing or imminent threats to human health or the environment.
The central pollution watchdog then directed the state pollution control board to take necessary measures for the remediation of these sites and communicate about actions taken in that direction. However, the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has not even sketched a revival plan. The board is still gearing up to make its second attempt at getting the sites delisted.
For the last few months, people living around Agara Lake have worried about all the trash piling up. So, they decided to do something about it themselves. They felt responsible for the lake, and they wanted it to be as beautiful as it used to be. They worked together to clean up the mess, and they managed to pick up more than 95 kilograms of garbage.