Hyderabad: Wondering why the stink around Hussainsagar has increased in the past few months? It’s because the Hyderabad Metro Water Works and Sewerage Board has diverted a part of the sewer pipeline into the downstream area of the lake near Marriott hotel. Officials, however, have a different reason to cite.
The diversion has been done to reduce the load of sewerage flowing through a 5.5-km long pipeline that broke a while ago, creating a 10-foot-large crater opposite the NTR Garden. HMWS&SB is in the process of calling tenders to lay a new sewer pipeline, which may cost Rs 80 crore.
Unless the project is executed, the sewerage will continue to flow downstream through the Tank Bund. As a result, the stink has increased around the tank. On September 21, a trunk sewer had got damaged near the NTR Garden following heavy rain.
The 5.5-km trunk sewer existed between Divya Shakthi Apartment in Ameerpet and the GHMC head office. The pipe was damaged as a higher volume of water was flowing into the pipeline. A resultant leak impacted the road surface. To close the crater and fix the pipeline, the board carried out repairs.
Stink due to pollution, says water board
The stink around the Hussainsagar lake has increased in the past few months because the Hyderabad Metro Water Works and Sewerage Board has diverted a part of the sewer pipeline into the downstream area of the lake near Marriott hotel.
Stated a board official: “The 5.5-km trunk sewer between Divya Shakthi Apartment in Ameerpet and the GHMC has been damaged, and the board cannot allow heavy flows through the damaged line. Thus, 10 per cent of the sewer flow is let into the downstream of Hussainsagar. However, the stink is not due to this. It is due to the flow of industrial chemicals downstream.”
“The sewerage let out is of domestic waste, which directly goes into the sewerage treatment plant. With regard to the new pipeline at NTR Marg, the board will be calling for tenders in December,” he said.
Preethi Ramaswamy, a regular walker on Tank Bund, said: “The area stinks right from Bud-dha Bhavan. Since it is winter, the foul smell lingers for a long time
in low atmospheric layers.”
