Lakes of the Hyderabad

Saroornagar Lake

Saroornagar lake is a historical lake. From its creation in 1626 the lake remained largely clean and neat until 1956 when Hyderabad started to expand. This lake was originally spread over 250 acres, but has now been reduced to less than 100 acres due to massive encroachments and illegal constructions in and around its Full Tank Level (FTL) and the buffer zone. Now the lake has a maximum depth of 6.1 metres (20 ft).

The lake was restored by the Hyderabad Urban Development Authority (HUDA) in 2003–04 at a cost of Rs 20 crore. As part of this initiative, two sewage treatment plants with the capacity to treat 250 million litres of sewage a day were installed, which are not working now. In addition to this, tourism-centric facilities such as boating in the lake, a children's park and a restaurant were to be taken up. The tourism minister also announced that all construction activity on the lake bed were to be stopped.

HUDA took up the task of cleaning the lake but the drain lines and industrial effluents of the surrounded colonies and industries are polluting the lake and now it is turned into a cesspool of dirty water. The migratory birds have now stopped coming due to dirt and increase in pollution levels.

History

This reservoir was constructed during the reign of Quli Qutub Shah to provide water for irrigation to farm lands and drinking water needs of the villagers. This 400-year-old lake is spread across an area of one square kilometre. Due to population explosion in Hyderabad after independence, the farm land around this lake has been converted into a residential and commercial area. The lake is one of the five major water bodies in Hyderabad. After 1956 when Hyderabad became the state capital of Andhra Pradesh, the city witnessed unprecedented growth in industrialisation and agriculture. Inevitably, untreated domestic sewage, solid waste and industrial effluents entered into the catchment area of this lake. The name of the lake is derived from the village name Saroornagar, which originally got its name from Saroor Khan, to whom the Nizam had gifted this village.

Problems

Dr Lubna Sarwath, a member of the Save Our Urban Lakes (SOUL), said, “Saroornagar lake is one of the largest water bodies in the twin cities after the Hussain Sagar. After the restoration, the civic agencies have taken up necessary steps that the lake does not get polluted because of the annual immersion of Ganesh idols. In addition, steps were taken to curb unauthorised construction near the lake bed. However by 2009, the filtration unit of the sewage treatment plant stopped functioning properly and the lake got polluted with domestic and industrial waste.”

Four years after the installation of the sewage treatment plant, the officials reported that 95 per cent of sewage was being treated. In 2007, a 5-acre park was developed alongside the lake at a cost of Rs 1.5 crore. The park featured sculptures, ornamental landscape, boating facility and an environment education centre. Citizens of nearby localities such as Nagole, LB Nagar and Vanasthalipuram welcomed this development.

“But things are different these days. The entire lake has turned into a cesspool and unauthorised constructions are in full swing. The lake has now been reduced to less than 100 acres of which at least 40 acres have been encroached upon by construction firms to build multi-storey structures and individual houses in the last few years. If the authorities do not act immediately, the lake will soon stink like Hussain Sagar,” Dr Lubna added.