Hyderabad: Revenue officials pull down encroachments sans machines

Rajendranagar: Startled by media reports on Errakunta Cheruvu in the Jalpally area, the Balapur Revenue officials have braced themselves up to act against encroachments in the FTL area though they met with little success.

To avoid much brouhaha, it is said, they stealthily reached the area without machines and pulled down some walls of a structure with bare hands, that too only after receiving a complaint on new encroachments.

This shows how frightened the officials are to act against encroachers of the water body that is notified by the HMDA and tagged with an ID No.3609 on the city outskirts.

When contacted, Balapur MRO D Srinivas Reddy said, "The Revenue officials prevented new encroachments and pulled down some newly-built compound walls with bare hands in survey no 185, Balapur village that comes under FTL area of the water body. We are constantly keeping an eye on developments in the FTL area and are acting against encroachers as and when we find new incursions."

"Though some disputes are pending in the High Court for almost three years," he said, "we are pursuing the matter to get the encroachments cleared so as to ensure protection of the lake.".

With just a few remains of the lake amid the densely populated area of Errakunta, the water body comes under Jalpally municipality in Maheshwaram constituency.

The survey conducted in 2013 by Aarvee Associates, shows the Yerra Cheruvu Lake at Yerra Kunta area is spread over 19.943 acres with water spread area of 14.069 acres. As most lake area has disappeared due to brazen encroachments over the years, what is left is a piece of a dew pond completely under land sharks.