The consistent degradation of natural water bodies is at the root of Hyderabad’s acute water crisis. With buildings sitting on paths of what were once natural water channels and the authorities rather disinterested in recharging lakes, is the city of Hyderabad doomed to be lake-less in the near future?
Spread over a sprawling stretch of almost a kilometer, the pristine Taj Banjara lake was once the pride of Hyderabad. With multiple water streams running along the KBR National Park, flowing in to the lake, the water body was seen bursting at its seams through the year. The expansive spread of the lake, however, started to shrink once development activity hit the area about two decades ago. As Banjara Hills turned into a prime realty destination, the water body was further choked by greedy builders who encroached on every side of the lake to erect plush residential complexes. The result, the Taj Banjara lake has now been reduced to a pond and better known for its stench that arises from the truck loads of garbage that locals dump into it everyday.
The fate of Hyderabad’s other lakes have been much the same. While the city could be `offi cially’ sitting on a massive water wealth of 3,086 lakes (as per irrigation department records) spread across the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) limits, but just about 300 are still in existence. Worse, only 100 odd, among these, have an impressive water level.
This gradual yet consistent degradation of natural water bodies is at the root of Hyderabad’s dreadful water crisis, say experts. For years, lakes have been ruthlessly buried under tomes of concrete to make way for unplanned urbanization that has sapped the earth of all its resources leaving the city parched and an inch closer to a severe drought. If ground water in Hyderabad, thanks to healthy lakes, was once available at less than 30 feet below the soil, the depth has now dropped to an astounding 1,200 feet or more.
And this, despite the city being gifted with a well-planned design to conserve water by the Nizam’s engineers. Developing a system around Hyderabad’s lakes, the engineers had ensured that every drop of water from these natural pits flowed into the rivers, thus adding to the city’s water content, on both the surface and underground. A case in point is the chain of lakes in Serilingampally. As per the design, once the rains filled the Ragula kunta here, the excess water, through a natural channel, was carried to another nearby lake, the Meedi kunta. Once that was full, the water ran into the Kaidamma kunta and from there to the Patel Cheruvu. It later overflowed into the Gangaram Pedda Cheruvu. The water, after fi lling the Lingam kunta and Beeram Guda Cheruvu, ultimately fl owed into the `Naaka Vagu’ (which is a canal) that contributes towards the city’s water supplies. “But unfortunately, this chain has been broken now with construction activity springing up on the channels connecting each of these lakes. The water fl ow, therefore, has almost become extinct during monsoon,” rues P Ramakrishna, city convener of Save Our Urban Lakes (SOUL),
pointing out how the Musi and Hussain Sagar too are networked with a similar group of lakes. “In these cases too, many of the connecting water bodies have been filled now. It is disheartening to see that a system, which could have kept Hyderabad’s water supplies brimming, has been killed instead,” Ramakrishna adds. That his concern is not without reason is evident from the chunk of lakes, right from Banjara Hills to Kukatpally to Masab Tank and even Chandanagar that now exist only on the map of the city. In reality they are `hot’ real estate destinations with not trace of water around. If some have faced death, others have shrinked by over half their original size and have high-rises standing on their FTLs (full-tank level) now. Not surprising then that only a meager 169 lakes in the city today have a water spread of over 10 hectares.
Squarely blaming government authorities for this widespread massacre, environmentalists say that the civic bodies’ should divert their attention towards recharging of lakes as against spending lakhs on setting up rain water harvesting pits. While they admit to the merits of such man-made trenches, experts maintain that their effectiveness is much lesser than that of water-filled lakes. “In the year 2000, the state government, under the district collector had set up a committee to study the impact of rain water harvesting and figure out just how much it helped in recharging ground water. The results were not very impressive,” says S Jeevanand Reddy, an environmentalist and member of the committee. Explaining the loopholes Reddy says how rain water harvesting pits are faced with a silting problem post monsoon and requires to be set up afresh every year. Lakes, on the other hand, are natural percolation pits and that allow for continued recharging of ground water.
That lakes cannot be substituted with artificial water harvesting measures is a fact upheld even by the New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) that has worked extensively in this field. In fact, a national study conducted by the organization in January this year reiterates how disappearing water bodies is the primary reason for the acute water shortage faced by residents across the country. “And Hyderabad is no different,” states Nitya Jacob, programme director (water) at CSE quoting from the study titled Excreta Matters’ that clearly indicates how the city, even while drawing excessive ground water, has done little to recharge it. “Its lakes and water bodies, which would have been the natural recharge areas, are stressed, being encroached upon for land or simply covered up with sewage. As a result, water levels are plummeting,” the study states. Jacob also highlights how the loss of water bodies has turned the city more vulnerable to fl oods every monsoon (from the chapter on Hyderabad in the study), has forced it to lose its sponges __ land in which to hold the rain __ and thereby, recharge its ground water. “The city will need a rain water harvesting pit in every nook and corner to make up for the total amount of water that is added to the earth by natural water bodies,” Jacob adds when quizzed on the effectiveness of artificial pits to bridge this demand-supply gap.
Even the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute’s (NEERI) in its `Environmental Management Plan for Osmansagar and Himayathsagar lakes’ survey drawn up in March this year stresses on the need to protect the city’s lakes and reiterates the importance of these water bodies. In its chapter on `Suggested Measures’ for the improvement of Hyderabad’s water quality, the report not only recommends stringent steps for controlling pollution of lakes but also proposes regular desilting and weed control within the city’s natural water pits. There is a repeated mention for the need Sewerage Treatment Plants (STPs) around lakes to ensure that the water is treated before being discharged into these water bodies. This, the report states, would help address water quality issues to a great extent.
Interestingly, the offi cial custodians of Hyderabad’s lakes are fully aware of such concerns but claim there is little they can do about it. While they confess that the blocking of channels between lakes and dumping of sewage into them have spelt doom for the city, they seem strapped for a solution to address the matter. “We can only direct the concerned departments to keep tabs on such illegal activities. If the blockages are not cleared by the municipal body to ensure better inflow, how can we recharge the lakes,” asks Sunil Kumar Gupta, convener of the Lake Protection Committee and member (environment) of HMDA.
This blame game only ascertains that the two-year-old body set up with the sole intention of safeguarding Hyderabad’s natural water assets has failed miserably in achieving its target.
Spread over a sprawling stretch of almost a kilometer, the pristine Taj Banjara lake was once the pride of Hyderabad. With multiple water streams running along the KBR National Park, flowing in to the lake, the water body was seen bursting at its seams through the year. The expansive spread of the lake, however, started to shrink once development activity hit the area about two decades ago. As Banjara Hills turned into a prime realty destination, the water body was further choked by greedy builders who encroached on every side of the lake to erect plush residential complexes. The result, the Taj Banjara lake has now been reduced to a pond and better known for its stench that arises from the truck loads of garbage that locals dump into it everyday.
The fate of Hyderabad’s other lakes have been much the same. While the city could be `offi cially’ sitting on a massive water wealth of 3,086 lakes (as per irrigation department records) spread across the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) limits, but just about 300 are still in existence. Worse, only 100 odd, among these, have an impressive water level.
This gradual yet consistent degradation of natural water bodies is at the root of Hyderabad’s dreadful water crisis, say experts. For years, lakes have been ruthlessly buried under tomes of concrete to make way for unplanned urbanization that has sapped the earth of all its resources leaving the city parched and an inch closer to a severe drought. If ground water in Hyderabad, thanks to healthy lakes, was once available at less than 30 feet below the soil, the depth has now dropped to an astounding 1,200 feet or more.
And this, despite the city being gifted with a well-planned design to conserve water by the Nizam’s engineers. Developing a system around Hyderabad’s lakes, the engineers had ensured that every drop of water from these natural pits flowed into the rivers, thus adding to the city’s water content, on both the surface and underground. A case in point is the chain of lakes in Serilingampally. As per the design, once the rains filled the Ragula kunta here, the excess water, through a natural channel, was carried to another nearby lake, the Meedi kunta. Once that was full, the water ran into the Kaidamma kunta and from there to the Patel Cheruvu. It later overflowed into the Gangaram Pedda Cheruvu. The water, after fi lling the Lingam kunta and Beeram Guda Cheruvu, ultimately fl owed into the `Naaka Vagu’ (which is a canal) that contributes towards the city’s water supplies. “But unfortunately, this chain has been broken now with construction activity springing up on the channels connecting each of these lakes. The water fl ow, therefore, has almost become extinct during monsoon,” rues P Ramakrishna, city convener of Save Our Urban Lakes (SOUL),
pointing out how the Musi and Hussain Sagar too are networked with a similar group of lakes. “In these cases too, many of the connecting water bodies have been filled now. It is disheartening to see that a system, which could have kept Hyderabad’s water supplies brimming, has been killed instead,” Ramakrishna adds. That his concern is not without reason is evident from the chunk of lakes, right from Banjara Hills to Kukatpally to Masab Tank and even Chandanagar that now exist only on the map of the city. In reality they are `hot’ real estate destinations with not trace of water around. If some have faced death, others have shrinked by over half their original size and have high-rises standing on their FTLs (full-tank level) now. Not surprising then that only a meager 169 lakes in the city today have a water spread of over 10 hectares.
Squarely blaming government authorities for this widespread massacre, environmentalists say that the civic bodies’ should divert their attention towards recharging of lakes as against spending lakhs on setting up rain water harvesting pits. While they admit to the merits of such man-made trenches, experts maintain that their effectiveness is much lesser than that of water-filled lakes. “In the year 2000, the state government, under the district collector had set up a committee to study the impact of rain water harvesting and figure out just how much it helped in recharging ground water. The results were not very impressive,” says S Jeevanand Reddy, an environmentalist and member of the committee. Explaining the loopholes Reddy says how rain water harvesting pits are faced with a silting problem post monsoon and requires to be set up afresh every year. Lakes, on the other hand, are natural percolation pits and that allow for continued recharging of ground water.
That lakes cannot be substituted with artificial water harvesting measures is a fact upheld even by the New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) that has worked extensively in this field. In fact, a national study conducted by the organization in January this year reiterates how disappearing water bodies is the primary reason for the acute water shortage faced by residents across the country. “And Hyderabad is no different,” states Nitya Jacob, programme director (water) at CSE quoting from the study titled Excreta Matters’ that clearly indicates how the city, even while drawing excessive ground water, has done little to recharge it. “Its lakes and water bodies, which would have been the natural recharge areas, are stressed, being encroached upon for land or simply covered up with sewage. As a result, water levels are plummeting,” the study states. Jacob also highlights how the loss of water bodies has turned the city more vulnerable to fl oods every monsoon (from the chapter on Hyderabad in the study), has forced it to lose its sponges __ land in which to hold the rain __ and thereby, recharge its ground water. “The city will need a rain water harvesting pit in every nook and corner to make up for the total amount of water that is added to the earth by natural water bodies,” Jacob adds when quizzed on the effectiveness of artificial pits to bridge this demand-supply gap.
Even the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute’s (NEERI) in its `Environmental Management Plan for Osmansagar and Himayathsagar lakes’ survey drawn up in March this year stresses on the need to protect the city’s lakes and reiterates the importance of these water bodies. In its chapter on `Suggested Measures’ for the improvement of Hyderabad’s water quality, the report not only recommends stringent steps for controlling pollution of lakes but also proposes regular desilting and weed control within the city’s natural water pits. There is a repeated mention for the need Sewerage Treatment Plants (STPs) around lakes to ensure that the water is treated before being discharged into these water bodies. This, the report states, would help address water quality issues to a great extent.
Interestingly, the offi cial custodians of Hyderabad’s lakes are fully aware of such concerns but claim there is little they can do about it. While they confess that the blocking of channels between lakes and dumping of sewage into them have spelt doom for the city, they seem strapped for a solution to address the matter. “We can only direct the concerned departments to keep tabs on such illegal activities. If the blockages are not cleared by the municipal body to ensure better inflow, how can we recharge the lakes,” asks Sunil Kumar Gupta, convener of the Lake Protection Committee and member (environment) of HMDA.
This blame game only ascertains that the two-year-old body set up with the sole intention of safeguarding Hyderabad’s natural water assets has failed miserably in achieving its target.
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