Hyderabad: The Mir Alam tank is shrinking by the day because of dumping of debris and garbage, as a result of which the authorities of the Nehru Zoological Park are facing several problems.
The Mir Alam tank which was once 800 acres has halved in size.
Ms Lubna Sarwath, a member Save Our Urban Lakes (SOUL), said, “The tank has shrunk due to the laying of roads within the full tank level area. Its maximum width area (MWD) has decreased due to encroachments on the Idgah side.
“As a result of the reduction in storage capacity, water is gushing out through the vent in the bund abutting the zoological park.”
Ms Sarwath says that the Mir Alam basin once had several smaller tanks. “All the tanks have been encroached upon, and their water channelised to the Mir Alam tank. People continue to encroach the FTL area in Hassannagar and NTR Nagar,” she said.
Once the tank is full, the single vent in the bund is the only outlet for the water.
“There was another small discharge outlet on the Idgah side, but it was eventually closed. Colonies have come up all around the tank, except on the north side, where the zoo is located,” Ms Sarwath said.
She said a lot of silt and garbage had accumulated in the lake bed. Apart from conducting surveys, the officials had not done much.
“Except for the setting up of a sewage treatment plant, no major works have been taken up to save the lake. There is a lake protection committee which consists of officials from all government departments but there is no coordination between them,” she says.
Mr S.Q. Masood, a social activist, pointed out that a similar situation prevails at the Umdasagar basin in Bandlaguda and Saroornagar mandals. “Jalpally the lake is being encroached upon by powerful politicians and new colonies are coming up in the FTL areas of the Umdasagar and the Suram Cheruvu. The authorities are turning a blind eye to the ongoing activities,” he said.
He attributed the frequent inundation of colonies in Falaknuma and Uppuguda to the encroachment of water bodies in the Umdasagar basin.
