HYDERABAD: The HMDA's proposal to construct a lakefront park on 10 acres close to Jalavihar on Hussainsagar's banks at an estimated cost of Rs. 15 crore to provide breath-taking views of the lake, particularly during the Ganesh immersion, has remained on paper.
Even though the proposal was announced by the planning authority in May 2018, nothing has happened since then. The nodal agency has been waiting for the consultant to finalise the design. On the project site, grass and vegetation have grown as a result of the delay.
The project was to be developed by the HMDA between Jalavihar and PV Ghat as part of the shoreline improvement initiative. Consequently, the government approved Rs. 15 crore and issued GO 119 on May 25, 2018, in this regard.
The HMDA hired a Mumbai-based consultant to prepare a landscape plan, detailed estimates, working diagrams and specifications for project implementation. The proposal included a three-metre-wide promenade, elevated walkways with underpasses, pedestrian pathways, a water channel deck with seating, a glass deck, and a lakeside over-water body. Mumbai-based architect Kishore Pradhan gaven the designs for the park.
The project included a play area for kids, pergolas with seating, and illuminated light sculptures at strategic locations. The existing wooden area was to be enhanced to accommodate elevated pathways. The HMDA had proposed an underwater aquarium where visitors could enter the water up to a few feet deep.
The project was delayed due to the loose soil and the site was fortified with sand and other materials. An estimated Rs. 8 crore to Rs. 9 crore is required to complete the pending works. HMDA started the construction of a steel building, but it was abandoned due to lockdowns and floods in 2020 and 2021. In the interim, the steel structure rusted and the project fell apart, causing weed and grass to grow.
A top HMDA official told Deccan Chronicle that the project would take some time to get off the ground because the consultant had not yet submitted the conceptual design. When asked why HMDA was not hiring a different consultant after four years of waiting for the same agency to complete a major beautification project in the centre of the city, the official responded that a decision must be made by the higher authorities.
Only on paper?
Rs. 15 crore: Project cost
Rs. 4 crore -Rs 5 crore: Spent on consultant fees, erecting steel frames, soil strengthening, procuring machinery, and manpower
Lakefront Park includes
- 3-metre-wide promenade, elevated walkways with underpasses, pedestrian pathways, among others.
- A play area for children.
- Underwater aquarium for visitors to enter water up to a few feet deep
Why the delay?
Announced in May 2018, various factors led to project delay, including consultant not finalising design, loose soil, Covid-19 induced locked and floods
Current status
- Abandoned as the steel structure rusted.
- Grass and vegetation developed
