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Just about a month ago, Bengaluru was declared the cleanest capital in the country, according to the Centre’s Swacch Bharat rankings. Evidently, the people doing the evaluation hadn't noticed the 9,000-acre Bellandur lake in the southeast of the city. Over the years, it has become intensely polluted with chemicals and sewage that have recently begun to react with each other to form a layer of white froth on the surface. It's like the lake is covered with fresh snow. Not just Bellandur lake, Varthur lake situated in the eastern periphery of the city is also covered in massive chemical froth, which one can see in the video below.

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The lake has become so dirty, it has contaminated the groundwater in the area, infecting borewells and causing health disorders of various sorts, residents say.

On October 2, the government will celebrate the anniversary of the Swacch Bharat Abhiyan or Clean India Mission. But in Bangalore, residents will hold a protest to draw attention to the seething problem that is Bellandur lake.