HYDERABAD: As the world observes World Wetlands Day on February 2, there will be not much to cheer for in Hyderabad. As Express finds out, only 10 of the 185 lakes in the GHMC limits that are on the list of the Telangana State Pollution Control Board (TSPCB) for regular water quality monitoring have Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) levels within the prescribed standards.
The BOD in lakes must be 3 milligrams per liter (3mg/L) or less. However, in most lakes in the city, it is above 10mg/L and much higher in DMRL Lake in Kanchanbagh (50mg/L), Shaikpet Lake (24mg/L) and Tirumalgiri lake(34mg/L). In Hussainsagar, BOD levels range between 14-40 mg/L depending on where the water sample was collected from.
Around 23 lakes in the city are as good as ‘dead’ due to almost zero levels of Dissolved Oxygen (DO). As per the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), water bodies with DO concentration less than 2 mg/L are known as ‘dead zones’ as they cannot sustain life. In some lakes, the water is nothing more than sewage as the DO levels are less than 0.5mg/L.
These include Kotha Cheruvu and Shahatam Cheruvu in Shaikpet, Tirumalagiri Lake, DMRL Lake in Kanchanbagh, Mothkula Kunta in Machabollaram, Parki Cheruvu in Kukatpally, Hasmathpet Lake, Kotha Cheruvu in Alwal, Mannevari Kunta in Machabollaram, Lingam Cheruvu in Suraram, Fox Sagar in Jeedimetla, Meedi Kunta and Pedda Cheruvu in Serilingampally, Patel Cheruvu in Madinaguda and Noor Mohammad Kunta in Kattedan.
“Before taking up any measures, the State government must first demarcate boundaries of all water bodies and fence them to prevent encroachments. Most lakes are open for encroachment with no officially recognised boundaries,” said Hyderabad-based environmentalist BV Subba Rao.