A local municipal worker collects dead fish at Ulsoor Lake in Bangalore, India, on March 7, 2016. Thousands of dead fish washed up on the banks of the polluted lake on Monday as nearby residents alleged that sewage has been flowing into the lake depleting its oxygen.

Thousands of dead fish that have washed up on the banks of Ulsoor Lake in Bangalore, India, have tainted the air in residential areas with a foul stench.

Residents’ group president V. Purushottam told the Associated Press that sewage has been flowing into the lake and authorities have ignored pleas to to repair a barrier that would stop it from getting into the water. The blistering summer heat and the high nitrogen content in the sewage also contributed to the deaths of the fish, according to the Times of India.

“This was bound to happen. For the past two years, we have been trying to warn authorities about a situation like this,” Purushottam told NDTV. “The entire lake is going to become black because of the sewage mixing with the water. The bund that separated it has collapsed.”

"Around 99 percent of the dead fish belong to the Puntius ticto species, which is indigenous to the state and can grow up to four inches long,” former scientist from the Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute MF Rahman told the Times of India. “The slightly bigger ones are Catla catla and Labeo rohita, also known as rohu, which are in very few numbers. The drop in oxygen levels is just one of the reasons for their death.”

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Sunday some fish had been spotted floating dead in the brownish water, but by Monday massive amounts of the dead fish were gathered at Ulsoor Lake’s banks, the Times also reports. Rahman says more fish will surface in the next 8 to 10 days, but in fewer numbers.

"The dissolved oxygen (DO) level has gone down drastically. We have instructed the fisheries contractors to clear the pool of dead fish immediately. The DO levels will be increased in the next couple of days and I will make sure that action is taken once all the tests are done," said Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) chairman Lakshman.

The KSPCB has collected samples from the water, but residents in Ulsoor will have to tolerate the odor for the next few days.

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"We have proposed air diffusers to be installed at Ulsoor Lake to prevent fish death. They will regulate levels of dissolved oxygen in the water,” said a Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) official. "But the bigger problem is of the broken sewage line that needs to be fixed so that untreated sewage does not enter the lake.

“There are only two water inlets into the lake, one at the MEG gate and another at the temple. Whether there are any other drains letting untreated sewage into the lake, we have to find out,” the official added.

Even before the issues with the lake, the city of Bangalore, which was officially renamed Bengaluru in 2014, has had its share of pollution problems.

Just last year, extreme levels of pollution in Bellandur Lake caused a toxic froth to spill into Bangalore’s streets. Flames were seen in another polluted lake in the city, according to AP.

A pit has been dug in the lake’s banks. Once the dead fish are collected, they will be buried in the pit and covered with soul. The manure that will form over time will be used for gardening by the lakeside.

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An Indian motorcyclist negotiates away from fluffy piles of foam at Varthur Kodi junction situated in east Bangalore. The innocuous-looking foam, which from a distance, looks like snow covering the road is nothing but toxic effluent caused by the polluted sewage water overflowing from nearby Varthur Lake. (MANJUNATH KIRAN/AFP/Getty Images)