Eateries polluting Hussainsagar lake

Hyderabad: Private commercial establishments, including Eat Street and Jal Vihar, located on the periphery of Hussainsagar are the major pollutants of the lake. Inspection has revealed that though these establishments have sewerage systems connecting to the GHMC lines, most of them dump leftover food, plastics and other solid waste in the lake. In fact, the HMDA has no idea about how many tons of garbage these eateries generate in a day as half of it is dumped into the lake.

Environmentalist Chakri S., who voluntarily conducted an inspection with the team, said, “The PCB needs to give permission for any business establishment with more than 20 seats, especially restaurants, around the lake. In fact the sewerage lines of these food joints cannot be directly connected to the GHMC drain line. They need to have an oil trap so that cooking oil does not enter the sewerage line. They don’t have proper solid waste deposal systems for collection and segregation as per rules. Right from Prasads to Sanjeevaiah Park, also the Sailing Club annexure... they all add more pollution. The PCB needs to act and issue notices. Any restaurant violating the rules can be issued a closure order as well.”

So far, none of the establishments have been issued warning notices by the PCB, or any mid-night or early hour inspections carried out. The establishments include Jal Vihar, Eat Street, Lumbini Park Sanjeev Anjaneyolu temple, police station, youth hostel, Hyderabad Boat Club adjacent to the BPP office and Sailing Club.

During inspection, HMDA found the outlets of Sanjeev Anjaneyolu temple, Hyderabad Boat Club and Water Front were being directly let into the lake. The pollutants include liquid and solid waste and every day two tractors have to make several trips carrying waste from the Hussainsagar to the temporary dumping yard, which is adding to the budget.

In a recent joint meeting conducted by Buddha Purnima project wing, these firms were asked to immediately divert the outlets or construct a sump. R.P. Khajuria, member environment, said that the Hyderabad Boat Club was the only establishment that has constructed a sump. Treated water flows into the lake through the two sewerage treatment plants (STPs) and because of these outlets, the water is again getting polluted.
The BBP has installed banners and boards at many food joints around the lake asking people not to throw waste and has also warned the managers to ensure no waste goes into the water bodies from their establishments.