Lakes of the city: Maisamma cheruvu

Maisamma Cheruvu located in the Moosapet village of Balanagar Mandal is covered under the HMDA Lake Protection Committee. The lake was surveyed in 2013 and according to the report, the water spread area is about 41 acres, full tank level is 150 acres and the bund length is 1,730 meters. The lake was once used to provide water for agriculture and allied activities and was the main source of drinking water needs for the local and neighbouring villagers. The lake was also famous for fishing activities in those days. The lake is 15 kilometres away from Secunderabad Railway Station and 25 kilometres from Rajiv Gandhi International Airport. The lake is surrounded by Viveknanadanagar, Tulasiagar, Pragatinagar and many other colonies.

History

According to locals, the lake existed since the Nizam era which conserved water flowing from high altitudes during the rainy season and was used as a reservoir for conserving water, which was later used for irrigation, cultivation and drinking water needs of the local and surrounding villages. It was also famous for fishing. The name of the lake is said to be derived from Maisamma Temple (Goddess Mahakali) which is said to have existed over 100 years ago.

Problems

Land grabbers took over the Maisamma Cheruvu due to the ignorant policy of the government officials. The lake bed and its buffer zone were encroached and illegal constructions have come up rampantly over years. In addition to the heavy dumping of garbage, the lake is layered with hyacinth and polluted by drains flowing in from nearby colonies and industries. The fencing laid by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) to prevent encroachments were partially removed to give free access to trespass into the lake’s buffer zone and other areas. A tank water supplier (NVPR Water Supply) that had come up in the lake bed has dug bore and is selling water for domestic and commercial usage, decreasing the water level of the lake.

Jasveen Jairath, founder convener of Save Our Urban Lakes (SOUL), said, “The locals had complained to the authorities regarding the rampant illegal structures, for which the authorities had built pillars around the lake to stall the menace. However, these pillars too have been demolished by land grabbers, resulting to mushrooming of a clutter of illegal settlements swelling day by day. One of this is the thickly-populated Rajiv Nagar Colony where most houses have come up without authorisation from the concerned government departments.”

Locals complain that the hectic construction activity around the lake needs to be stopped immediately.

Local activists allege that the illegal construction activities gained momentum over the last few years with local leaders coming out to extend support to these encroachers. Further, there is no resistance from the concerned government officials. This inaction has helped the grabbers to encroach without any fear. Attempts by civil society groups in the past to highlight the issue, too have met with stiff resistance.

The Tehsildar of Balanagar revenue division has said that their teams are deployed to identify encroachments and would soon take action against the violators.