Thousands of dead fish, swarms of maggots and a stench that has lingered for days have turned Doddagubbi Lake in Bengaluru into a stark reminder of the risks polluted runoff poses to urban water bodies.

Nearly a week after the mass fish kill, the 125-acre lake in Bengaluru’s Mahadevapura Assembly constituency remains at the centre of a dispute over responsibility for the deaths and the delay in removing the carcasses.

Villagers allege that neither the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) nor the Minor Irrigation Department has taken responsibility for addressing the situation. Meanwhile, the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has said it will issue notices to Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited (BSWML), as leachate from a nearby dumping yard is suspected of contributing to the contamination.

The incident raises a larger question for a city whose lakes face mounting pressure from expanding settlements, waste disposal and drainage networks: what happens when rainwater carries pollution into a lake, and the damage goes unaddressed?

Thousands of fish, one suspected cause

The first explanation for the deaths points to a problem beneath the water’s surface.

B Chikkanna, deputy director of the Fisheries Department in Mahadevapura ward, told Hindustan Times on Sunday that the initial assessment indicated the fish had died from asphyxiation caused by low levels of dissolved oxygen in the lake.

“Prima facie, the fishes died due to asphyxiation. Due to the rains, a large quantity of rainwater mixed with polluted water from Mittaganahalli GBA dumping yard entered Doddagubbi Lake, causing a shortage of oxygen,” Chikkanna told the newspaper.

The Fisheries Department has begun an inquiry and collected water samples to investigate the deaths. The results will be crucial in establishing the precise cause and identifying the source of contamination.

As BSWML and Minor Irrigation Department fail to clear dead fish, Doddagubbi lake is now infested with Maggots. @NewIndianXpress,@XpressBengaluru,@ramupatil_TNIE,@mg_chetan,@aknisreekarthik,@krishnabgowda,@DKShivakumar,@RLR_BTM https://t.co/F32LNINQ33 — Yacoob (@yacoobExpress) October 9, 2026

As BSWML and Minor Irrigation Department fail to clear dead fish, Doddagubbi lake is now infested with Maggots. @NewIndianXpress,@XpressBengaluru,@ramupatil_TNIE,@mg_chetan,@aknisreekarthik,@krishnabgowda,@DKShivakumar,@RLR_BTM https://t.co/F32LNINQ33

The suspected sequence of events points to a familiar urban environmental problem. Rainwater that should replenish a lake can also carry pollutants from surrounding land, waste facilities and drainage channels. When this runoff contains high........

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