HYDERABAD: Fighting a losing battle against encroachers and some people who lack civic sense, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) now proposes to take up bioremediation and organic treatment to save four of the city’s water bodies from encroachments and pollution.
Sewage from surrounding buildings has caused the destruction of once-drinking water sources such as Bum-Rukn-Ud-Dowla and Nizam’s Bowli, Pochu Kunta Lake, Surram Cheruvu, and Salkam Cheruvu turning them into cesspools filled with filth.
Despite calls from voluntary organisations like Save Our Urban Lakes (SOUL) and directives from the National Green Tribunal, concrete steps to protect and conserve these lakes have not been taken. The GHMC now hopes that bioremediation and organic treatment of these four polluted lakes will help maintain water quality.
The officials have called for request for proposals from agencies to provide an efficient, cost-effective, natural solution for cleaning and maintaining these lakes. The work should be completed within three months, using only recommended bio-remedial probiotic enzymes techniques for lake restoration and maintenance.
The selected agency will be appointed for one year and will carry out cleaning and maintenance of these lakes, maintaining desirable chemical characteristics of the lake water. The quality parameters that the contractor should maintain throughout the term of the contract include pH level of water (6.5 to 8.5), COD (0-250), TSS (10-100 mg/L), DO of the water (3.5-9.5 mg/l), and ammonia (0-5 mg/L). The agency should ensure that all the water in the lake is cleared and maintained at the desired quality at any point in time within the contract period after the initial cleaning period of three months.
The Bum-Rukn-Ud-Dowla and Nizam’s Bowli are historic heritage water bodies with an area of 11,000 sq.mts, circumference of 1.30 km, and depth of 3 to 3.5 metres. Pochu Kunta Lake has an area of 43,000 sq.mts, circumference of 1.10 km, and depth of 3-4 metres. The Surram Cheruvu / Salkam Cheruvu has an area of 1,19,000 sq.mts, circumference of two km, and depth of 3.5-4.5 metres.