Friends of birds clean Ameenpur lake

Hyderabad: About 200 volunteers took part in a drive to clean up the surroundings of Ameenpur lake, an important wetland on the outskirts of the city.

Ameenpur lake is home to more than 150 residential bird species and also plays host to some migratory birds which breed there during winter.

“Even on Sunday, birds like the black winged stilt, cormorant, grey heron, little egret, black kite, red wattled lapwing, Indian silver bill, red vented bulbul, the Indian oriole, the spotted dove, painted stork, the river tern and Indian robin were sighted”, said Harikrishna Adepu of Hyderabad Birding Pals.

Participating were personnel from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), the collector and police officials from Medak, and locals from the Ameenpur gram panchayat.

Two youth groups, Hyderabad Birding Pals and Phulkari also joined the drive. The clean up drive found support from the Telangana State Special Protection Force with its director-general Tejdeep Kaur Menon and about 100 guards taking part.

Planting of saplings was also initiated at the 64-acre TSSPF Academy which abuts the lake.

“There are several issues like unauthorised occupation of the lake bed where layouts have sprung up, the flow of domestic sewage and industrial effluents besides the killing of birds as game or for exotic meat of which there is evidence in the lake environs that have to be addressed. We are in touch with the Medak district collector and other officials concerned on these issues,” Ms Menon said.