HOURS before they land up on your dining table as salad - dozens of carrots, beetroot and tomatoes are dipped in Bangalore's Varthur Lake for one last wash. So if your vegetables come coated with bacteria or moss, there shouldn't be a doubt where they've come from.
This lake may not count among the city's most polluted lakes. But according to the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), the BOD or the bio-chemical oxygen in demand does exceed the accepted limit of 5 when the water remains stagnant.
Farmers and villagers who live in Varthur have washed vegetables in this lake for many years now. Says Baula, a vegetable seller who hails from Varthur, "We wash carrots, tomatoes and beetroot in this lake. We have done this for years. The water is okay, nothing happens." Picking up a tomato covered with flies, Baula tries to emphasize his point, and "The tomatoes and carrots are already dirty We make them clean by washing them in the lake".
KSPCB chairman B. Shivalingaiah says water samples from Varthur Lake were tested last in April. "At that time we found the lake water a little better than most Bangalore Lakes. The chemical load was well within the limit at that time.
But in March, just a month before, the bio-chemical oxygen in demand had been up to 6, which is not acceptable," explains Shivalingaiah. He adds, "When there is no flow in the lake's water, it gets polluted. We haven't checked it for bacteria, but are sure that the bacterial count is high."
Dr. TV Ramachandra of the Centre for Ecological Sciences says, "When porous vegetables are washed in a polluted lake, contaminants enter the vegetable's tissue. These vegetables have to be cooked properly."
According to Krishna, a vegetable seller at HAL market, tractor loads of vegetables, washed in the lake, come in from Varthur and Siddapur every morning. Krishna, who comes from City Market to HAL, says "Around 20 to 30 tempos come in the morning. They grow vegetables in Varthur and wash it there itself."
And for commuters like R Murali, this sight has lost its novelty. "Every morning when I travel to work, I see farmers unloading truckloads of vegetables like carrots and beetroot and washing them in the lake. After they are done, they put them in gunny bags and take them to the two nearby markets," says Murali.
But some sellers, like Chinnamma, shake their head vehemently at the suggestion that their vegetables are washed in Varthur Lake. "I wash the vegetables in Hoskote. The Varthur lake is so dirty, how can I wash my vegetables there?" she asks. Chinnamma adds that anyway all vegetables must be washed in filter water after they are bought since they contain pesticides.