HYDERABAD: “Mana cheruvu, mana badhyata (Our lake, our responsibility)!,” chanted Gulshan Bamboat, a resident of Secunderabad for 30 years. “The Kapra lake was almost double the size of what it is now said Gulshan adding that she hardly see birds flying around the lake.”
Local community groups like Green Sainikpuri, Kapra Lake Revival Group and Fenko Matt, nature lovers and students came together to form a human chain around the Kapra Lake in Secunderabad on Sunday. “The human chain is part of our attempts to raise awareness about the need to protect and maintain water retention in the lake,” said Vijaya Naidu, a volunteer.
The 113-acre lake was the backdrop for blockbusters like Daana Veera Shoora Karna (1977) and Utsav (1984). Over the span of two decades, the size of the lake has dwindled due to encroachments and has also become a dumping ground. “Apart from realtors, meat and poultry shops also resort to dumping their waste in the lake,” said Balakrishna, a volunteer.
Led by Manognya Reddy and Gulshan Bamboat, clean-up drives are organised every Sunday. According to Balakrishna, the volunteers are greeted by waster every weekend. In previous years, local groups have strived to encourage Ganesh idols made of clay and ensure that only the Immersion Pond beside the lake is used for immersing idols in the lake and flower composting has also been proposed. “Authorities only remember the lake during Ganesh Chaturthi and Bathukamma,” says Balakrishna.
Green Sainikpuri also aims to increase the inflow into the lake by locating and opening stormwater drains that once fed the lake. As per Bamboat, rainwater alone is not enough to sustain the water body. Thus, phytoremediation (use of plants to remove elemental pollutants) and bioremediation (use of living organisms to remove pollutants) methods are also being considered to treat the existing sewerage systems that drain into the lake.
In 2023, MAUD undertook fencing of the lake. However, the plan to develop a bird sanctuary is yet to materialise. Balakrishna said, “We have proposed the construction of a walkway filled with greenery”. The participants chanted slogans in unison during the event.