Biotech for Cleaner Lakes

Bangalore's 'pensioner's paradise' tag got buried under the numerous steel and glass structures, traffic gridlocks and dwindling tree cover and the city acquired a new avatar of being India's very own silicon valley. Software movers and shakers such as NR Narayana Murthy and Azim Premji became household names.

However the biotechnology sector, though quite active in the city, somehow got eclipsed and could not come out of the shadows of IT sector. For those not studying biotechnology, their familiarity with the sector begins and ends with Biocon and its chief Kiran Mazumdar Shaw.

Ever heard of Nualgi Nano Biotech (NNB)? A chance encounter on NDTV site about this company made me sit up and watch. This Jayanagar-based biotech firm is helping Americans clean up their polluted lakes.

The news item describes NNB as 'a low profile biotech company' founded by Thothathri Sampathkumar and has cleared a 3-acre lake of weeds and algae and helped boost fish population. All it needed was 50 kg of Nualgi - a product invented and patented by the company.

The company's promoters describe Nualgi as a mix of micro nutrients in the form of nano particles including silica, iron and manganese, which triggers the rapid growth of a type of algae called diatoms (never mind the technical details and read on). The diatoms release oxygen through photosynthesis and it increases the dissolved oxygen level in water and thus keeps the pond clean. Diatoms converted into 'zooplanktons' provide food for the fish. One kilogram of Nualgi can treat four million litres of water!

To me it sounded too good to be true and as I was reading through the article numerous images and even smells of filthy lakes and rivers of our country came to my mind. I must confess that the Cooum river of Chennai and Bandra creek of Mumbai took the prime time space in my mind. It really beats me as to why their expertise was not used here in a big way.

Towards the end of the article it mentioned that in India it has been used in some lakes, mainly by fishermen to increase their catch. A Google search revealed that some of the Bangalore lakes treated with nualgi include Madivala Lake, Ulsoor Lake, Vengayyana Kere (KR Puram) and Puttenahalli Lake. Sadly only one press article I came across and that too by a financial newspaper The Mint in 2009. Nobody from the mainstream press seems to have woken up to it.

Also Read: Random Jottings