HYDERABAD: Residents of Dharani Nagar near Kukatpally were in for a shock on Sunday after their streets were engulfed in huge clouds of froth, floating on ankle-deep water overflowing from the nearby Periki cheruvu. Frothing of the lake has been a serious cause of health concern for the residents of Dharani Nagar for the last couple of years but the severity of frothing on Sunday was greater than ever.
Nageshwar Rao, former president of the resident welfare association of Dharani Nagar said, “We did everything possible, complained to the pollution control board, informed the GHMC, local corporator, and the MLA. No one came to help. No action has been taken since 2012.”
Whenever the officials come, they just use some liquid to temporarily break a mound of froth which results in froth floating in the air everywhere, he alleged.
The fate of Periki lake is not isolated. In 2017, the Telangana State Pollution Control Board sanctioned a study to analyse the causes of frothing in various lakes of the city, including Periki lake. The study by BV Subba Rao, advisor for Climate Change in the ESCI had pointed out two major reasons - the presence of the filamentous bacteria and high concentration of surfactants in the lake.
The study pointed out that these two issues were also the causes behind frothing in five other lakes - Mukidi cheruvu, Nacharam cheruvu, Nalla cheruvu, Patel cheruvu and Ibrahimbagh cheruvu.