Mysore/Mysuru, Jan. 16 -- Water hyacinth chokes Hebbal Lake

Ten months after the Hootagalli City Municipal Council (CMC) - now part of the Greater Mysuru City Corporation - resumed daily clean-up drives and pledged to protect the waterbody, Hebbal Lake is once again suffocating under a toxic mix of untreated sewage, industrial effluents and rampant water hyacinth.

The invasive weed has engulfed the 54-acre Lake, transforming it from a waterbody into what resembles a manicured green lawn. Every day, blackened sewage, animal waste, plastic debris and chemical-laced runoff pour through its inlets, steadily poisoning the ecosystem.

What was once a thriving habitat for aquatic life and migratory birds has degenerated into a foul-smelling, s...