18th century city lake gasps for life

Despite the NGT’s directions, sewage continues to be dumped through two streams into Bum-Rukn-ud-Dowla 

HYDERABAD: The Bum-Rukn-ud-Dowla, a historic lake built in the 18th century located opposite the SVP National Police Academy in Shivaramapalli, continues to be in a pathetic condition. The discharge of sewage into the lake has not stopped even three years after the National Green Tribunal (NGT) passed directions to improve the lake’s condition and held the Secretary of Urban Development Department and Chairman of Telangana State Pollution Control Board “personally accountable” for any failure. 

The TSPCB filed an inspection report of the lake with the NGT this week, according to which sewage continues to be discharged into the lake through two streams. The Board also tested the water quality of the lake and classified it under ‘Class E’. This means the lake’s water is not fit for propagation of fisheries and can only be used as industrial coolant or for controlled waste disposal. 

The TSPCB said in its report that action taken and progress reports are awaited from the  HMWS&SB, GHMC and Irrigation Department. It further said that the action taken till now include GHMC removing municipal solid waste from the lake’s premises. It also claims that “some” sewage streams joining the lake were stopped. The only consolation here is that the water quality in 2018 was poorer than ‘Class E’ category. The NGT Principal Bench had taken up the case in 2018 after it received a communication from Hyderabad-based activist Dr Lubna Sarwath, regarding how the historic water body of around 104 acres is being destroyed. 

Following that, the Principal Secretary of Municipal Administration and Urban Development department submitted an action plan in August 2019 that the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) would take up remediation of the lake and the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) would impose a fine of `10,000 on local residents who are letting sewage into the lake. Other ambitions plans were also listed, including installation of CC cameras and posting of lake guards. These measures were to be taken by September 2020. However, another report submitted last year in July attributed delay in taking up these actions on account of the pandemic.

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