Hyderabad: Garbage is being dumped along the banks of the Manikonda Lake, which is adjacent to Lanco Hills’ $1.5 billion mega housing project. Piles of garbage are clearly visible near the walking track built on the banks of the lake.
“I used to come here frequently with my grandchildren but now the smell has become unbearable. When I moved here with my family, I was assured that I will have a lake view apartment but all I can see now is concrete buildings,” said a resident of the Lanco Hills Society who prefers not to be identified.
“Every year during the monsoon, the lakes get a new life but because of continuous construction activities, it starts choking by the year end. This stagnant dirty water is also the breeding ground of mosquitoes,” he added
“This lake used to be a favourite fishing spot for me and my friends but now there is so much garbage that it has become impossible to fish near the shore,” said Mr Satish, who used to come here for fishing.
Mr Pavan Kumar Goud, president of Lanco Hills Society, denied that there was garbage dumping near the lake by residents. “We have assigned the task of garbage collection to vendors who dump the garbage at the assigned places. We have no idea where the gar-bage is coming from.”
The contractor could not be reached by phone.
Hyderabad, which used to be home to 7,000 natural and manmade lakes at one point of time, doesn't even have 70 lakes remaining.
“We are carrying out lake fencing across the city in order to check illegal dumping. As of now 68 lakes have been fenced and the remaining will be fenced soon. In order to ease their work these private builders and societies dump their garbage in the lake directly," said Khursheed Moinuddin of the GHMC.”
Dr Ravi Jillapalli, a city-based environmentalist who is involved with the restoration of lakes, says, "Most of the lakes are directly connected to the sewage system, which is the major reason for the pollution in the lake. There is no proper waste and sewage disposal system."
He said polluting the lake water imbalances the pH level which can lead to the birth of new bacteria and microbes. “Once we stop these human activities, lakes will revive by themselves,” Dr Jillapalli said.
