Kudikunta a stinking cesspool of a lake

Kondapur: Drawing inspiration from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation's (GHMC) 'Saaf Hyderabad-Shaandaar Hyderabad' programme and efforts to clean up water bodies in the city, as many as 25 volunteers of Society for Advancement of Human Endeavour (SAHE) along with GHMC staff removed more than 200 kg of waste, mainly domestic and vegetable market waste from the Kudikunta lake in Masjid Banda locality in Kondapur area on Sunday.

The drive took place in an adventurous manner as volunteers were in seen kayaking and removing waste from the lake. The cleanliness drive organised to sensitise the citizen about ill-effects of water pollution. More than 25 volunteers participated. Arjun, a sailor, who trained the volunteers to kayak in this drive also participated. The sailors and participants were provided the life jacket, boat, and kayak.

Kudikunta Lake is one of the oldest lakes in Kondapur was a drinking water source for residents. Spread over 8.04 acres it used to be an aquatic habitat and occasional home to migratory birds. Now, the lake is filled with toxic waste, garbage and untreated sewage from nearby residential colonies.

Kalpana Ramesh, a member of SAHE said, "The first time we came up with this concept by cleaning and adventure together. With the help of a sailing boat, it is very easy to pull out murk from water. As we cannot reach the shores manually and with the help of kayak, we can easily remove the murk and garbage from the lake. As when you sail, there is turbulence is created in the water and it actually oxygenates the water which is very good for water bodies."

She said with the help of kayak, 100-meter stretch of the lake was cleaned and till now 10 tonnes of plastic was removed. Little more cleaning is left, soon it would be completed, she admitted.

Kalpana Ramesh said that the GHMC has put up a board asking people not to dump domestic waste in the lake and people have stopped throwing waste. "When people participate in cleaning drives such as these, they will realise the importance of water bodies and take a decision not to pollute them," said Kalpana.