HYDERABAD: Even after spending crores over the past few years on trying to divert sewage of various drains from discharging into the Hussainsagar, the Telangana government has remained unsuccessful. The Kukatpally nala (drain), responsible for 75 per cent of all the waste flowing into the Hussainsagar, continues to drain 30-40 per cent of its untreated sewage into the lake, according to a report submitted in the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday by a Joint Committee of experts.
The NGT had constituted the committee last year to look into various aspects concerning the pollution and protection of the Hussainsagar, in a petition filed by lake protection activist Lubna Sarwath. This is the second such report by the committee.
The committee noted that untreated sewage from the Banjara, Yousufguda and Balkapur nalas gets discharged into the lake during peak hours (7 am-12 pm) and the monsoon. It reported that untreated sewage has been mixing with treated waste from the Picket nala’s sewage treatment plant (STP). During an inspection, the Balkapur nala STP was found to be non-functional, thereby causing the untreated sewage to flow into the Hussainsagar.
The committee also noted that even though the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) officials had informed them at a meeting in March, 2020, that the lake’s surplus weir — which was damaged by the government — would be repaired after the monsoon, nothing was done to this effect when the committee had checked in December.
Despite the committee’s recommendations, the State government authorities did not install flow measurement devices (to measure the flow of sewage from all nalas) at the outlets of the lake and the confluence point of the Musi river to quantify the quantum of sewage generated, it stated.
The committee also lamented that while diverting the sewage from various drains might reduce the inflow into the Hussainsagar, it is bound to increase pollution in the Musi. It pointed out that the diverted sewage finally ends up in the Golnaka drain and flows into the Amberpet STP, which has a capacity to treat only 339 MLD of sewage. But the volume of diverted sewage is much higher.
Additionally, the bioremediation of the Hussainsagar, taken up by the HMDA for six months, will not yield good results if the pollution caused by sewage inflows continues, it stated.