Rubber dam: A mockery of Musi beautification

Nayapul: The rubber dam based on Australian technology which was constructed on the Musi by spending crores of rupees continues to be an irritant for locals. For over a decade, the structure built as part of Musi beautification programme remains not only inefficient but has also turned into a chocking point for water flow. It has also morphed into a mosquito breeding ground.

According to social activists, who are closely associated with Medha Patkar of Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) apart from private constructions and factories in the city, the government is playing a major role in encroachment of the river. "The city of Hyderabad was not only planned well on the banks of Musi to ensure enough water supply, but also the then rulers ensured that it remained free from flooding through different measures. One of the instances of major encroachments of the river is the island on which MGBS was constructed and later the entire island slowly encompassed other facilities such as dumping yard, huge metro station, a GHMC park and river slowly shrank," observed Syed Bilal, the vice-president of Human Rights Forum.

Bilal said that crores of rupees were spent on the beatification of Musi but all projects failed to achieve their purpose. "For the beautification, the government has established a rubber dam by spending huge amounts. But, it has become inefficient and useless. Rather it has turned hindrance to free flow of water and whenever one sees huge piles of unattended garbage li there," he said. During the recent floods, the water in Musi was flowing above the MGBS bridges and nearly touched the bridge of Salarjung, he added.

Another observer said that there are not many encroachments near the Salarjung bridge, two bridges of Nayapul till Muslimjungpul. The only issue is that the depth of the river has reduced. Earlier, the depth of the Musi was huge 30-40 feet, now, it is not even half. It is because the river has turned into a construction waste and garbage dump yard. Tonnes of tonnes of debris are being discarded on its banks and due to this the depth of the river is reduced and no cleaning and development of the river turned it to an eyesore," said K Venkatesh, an activist.

WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE

To save the Musi and restore its past glory, the government should desilt the river and clear all the accumulated debris as well as garbage – most importantly the shifting of the dumping yard is must. The government also should come up with fencing and construction retaining walls along the entire river stretch.

To stop the pollution of the river, the dumping yard should be shifted as earliest, the park and dam which were established in the river should be maintained and the areas must be cleaned from time to time.

For its beautification, there is nothing to establish or spend crore of rupees. Instead, to help the river restore and retain its glory, major nalas (stormwater drains) which are connected to the Musi must be open so that water flow is free as it used to be during the Nizam era till 2000. Work on the treatment plants taken up in 2006 by the water board should be restored for improving the water quality, says Syed Bilal.