HYDERABAD: To protect Kapra Lake from deteriorating further, various wings of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) have come together to formulate a 100-day action plan. The lake has been divided into four segments: eastern bund, western bund, northern bund, and southern bund. The departments concerned, irrigation, entomology, electrical and urban biodiversity wing, will tackle the issues in each segment one by one.
The irrigation department will be taking up rejuvenation works such as improving the condition of inlets and outlets, bund strengthening, and restoration of dilapidated sluices. According to Nagaraj, assistant executive engineer in the irrigation department, filling the lake with good quality water is the priority of the department. A decision on employing bioremediation and phytoremediation will be taken after consulting environmental experts, he said. A walkway will be constructed along the lake, broken fences will be repaired and native trees will be planted in an attempt to attract birds and animals to the lake, Nagaraj added.
As per Ramkishan, deputy director of the LB Nagar Zone of the urban biodiversity wing, species such as arjuna, jamun, Indian rosewood, kanuga, sitaphal, bamboo, henna, peepal and banyan are being considered. Besides this, to give the illusion of old trees, artificial structures with nests will be erected. A children’s park will also be developed.
The electrical department has erected poles near the lake for installing CCTV cameras and streetlights. Two Lake Protection Force personnel have been deputed to the lake to keep a check on littering.
On August 13, local groups, nature lovers and students formed a human chain calling for the protection of the lake and water retention. “We aim to complete the works in a comprehensive manner,” said Nagaraj.