Lack of cleaning gear chokes Hussainsagar
The civic bodies have not procured machinery to remove idols that have been immersed over the years
Hyderabad: As many as 10,000 Ganesh idols immersed along the the Tank Bund side cannot be removed as both civic bodies Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority and Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation do not have a marine craft to dig into the bund, which is several feet deep. Though the Japan International Cooperation Agency has been funding the Hussainsagar Lake Catchment cleaning project, the civic bodies have not procured machinery to remove idols that have been immersed over the years. Currently, the HMDA is using a pontoon excavator to dredge out the debris, but even this machine cannot dig that deep.
According to the Buddha Purnima Wing of HMDA, the JCBs (massive cranes used to clear construction debris) and the ‘Dredge Utility Craft’ cannot function in the Tank Bund area due to its depth. Only the areas opposite NTR Gardens and near Sanjeevaiah Park are cleaned up. Authorities say it will take over a month and a half to remove the debris.