‘Varthur Overflow’: Bengaluru restaurant names cocktail after frothing lake. Viral photo
The infamous frothing of lakes in Bengaluru inspired Oota Bangalore to create a foamy, white cocktail called ‘Varthur Overflow’, named after the Varthur lake.
Bengaluru has seen several of its lakes spilling out toxic white froth on to the streets, with a couple of instances of the snowy foam even catching fire. The unusual phenomenon, which has plagued the city's lakes for the past several years, has inspired a popular restaurant to craft a cocktail that resembles this froth.
The cocktail, named "Varathur Overflow", is named after the Varthur lake in south-east Bengaluru. The lake, the second largest in the city and one of the most-polluted, was among the water bodies that had faced foaming multiple times in recent years.
The restaurant, Oota Bangalore, created the cocktail which has tequila, orange brandy, vetiver vodka, pineapple juice, fresh citrus, ripe jackfruit and salt air.
"Bangalore Oota Company has a drink called ‘Varthur Overflow’ which is a play on the Varthur Lake pollution incident. This city literally will make memes to the point of parody cocktails instead of fix itself," Bengaluru resident Arnav Gupta wrote on X (formerly Twitter), sharing a photo of the cocktail.
Check out the post here:
Bengaluru lake frothing an annual phenomenon?
In 2017, foam on the Varthur lake spilled onto the Whitefield Main Road, making travel difficult for commuters and causing traffic jams. The nearby Bellandur lake too sprouts froth routinely.
The foam on the lakes also lets out unbearable stink, prompting residents to cover their noses while passing by it. Photos and images of the toxic foam were viral a couple of years ago, shocking social media users across the country. The city's civic body came under fire for the utter disorder and state of affairs of the water bodies.
Last year, researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) revealed three reasons for the foam, froth and occasional fire, especially on the Bellandur lake.
The study found that sewage entering the lake took up to 15 days to spread, with surfactants from the sewage collecting on sludge over time. Heavy rains then churn up the surfactant-laden sludge, dislodging the accumulations of surfactants. At the same time, the researchers suggest that suspended solids containing certain bacteria could also be responsible for the foam formation. The researchers have called for untreated sewage to be prevented from entering the lake.