HYDERABAD: State president of the water resources council of Women’s Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (WICCI) Lubna Sarwath has filed a complaint with the Rangareddy District Collector against encroachment on Guttala Begumpet Cheruvu with all its channels destroyed.
She demanded immediate restoration of the water body.In her e-mail to the Collector, she stated that as per the Cadastral Map of NRSC Bhavan 2G, the lake came under survey numbers 7,8,9,32 and 33 in part or full, and that survey numbers 7,8 and 9 were in the category of the prohibited land in the Dharani Integrated Land Management Systems portal.
Lubna attached NRSC satellite imagery superimposed on the Cadastral map, along with the historical satellite imagery from Google Earth, which showed how the lake had been encroached upon after a road was laid dissecting the water body almost a decade ago.
Will prevent flooding
Presently, as the inflow channels had been destroyed, land grabbers were waiting for the lake to slowly dry, she alleged.“Restoration of this lake would not only make the vicinities self-sufficient for water but will also prevent the flooding of the surrounding areas. Hence, urgent action on the official lapse is sought,” she wrote to the Collector, who is also chairperson of the district-level committee responsible for enforcing the Water, Land and Trees Act (WALTA).