HYDERABAD: The Pollution Control Board (PCB) is planning to take up water quality assessment prior to the immersion of main Ganesh idols beginning on September 9. As per High Court orders, only clay idols will be allowed to be immersed in city lakes, including Hussain Sagar.
But technicalities of the assessment plan are uncertain as PCB officials remained tight-lipped on specific issues like when the assessment would be carried out, the total number of lakes listed for assessment and whether they would include lakes that do not figure in the HMDA list.
A senior PCB official told Deccan Chronicle, on condition of anonymity, “The water quality assessment would be done as per CPCB guidelines. This is the practice we have employed all along.”
Another official informed that a meeting was conducted by member-secretary Neetu Kumari Prasad. They were awaiting instructions on how to go about the assessment, particularly on checking pollution levels in Hussainsagar.
With the immersion of PoP idols virtually banned in Hussainsagar, GHMC planned to set up 74 fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP) portable water ponds and excavate twenty-two temporary ponds. Subsequently, PCB officials said they were working with other civic authorities.
Although, around two weeks back, PCB officials stated that water assessment would be carried out two days before the commencement of the festival, precious little has been done in this regard. The board’s lackadaisical approach indicated it was not executing its plans.
Attempts to meet officials of various concerned departments proved futile as they were not available to provide any feedback.
