Hyderabad: Malkam Cheruvu springs back to life; to woo tourists

Hyderabad: Once a neglected and polluted lake, the restored and fully developed Malkam Cheruvu will be thrown open to the public from Tuesday. The lake rejuvenation project was taken up for four years. The restored lake was inaugurated by Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD) Minister KT Rama Rao on Monday. It is a notified water body in the western part of the city; is situated at Raidurg close to IT Corridor in Serilingampally Mandal of Ranga Reddy district.

According to a GHMC official, the lake has a full tank level area of 51.30 acres. Previously the tank served for an ayacut of approximately 20 acres. Now there is no ayacut. The tank is one of the chain-link tanks of Durgam Cheruvu, Ibrahim Cheruvu and the Musi River.

The lake has been restored and developed under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activity by Aparna Infra Housing Pvt. Ltd, in coordination with the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) and the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC).

Earlier, the lake was polluted with sewage continuously entering. After its restoration the sewage lines entering the lake have been diverted through a ring sewer. Under the lake rejuvenation project, major facilities and measures to safeguard the water body were taken up. Things like permanent lake boundary fencing with cast iron grill, removal of water hyacinth and other floating weeds from the lake from time to time.

Improvement of inlets/outlets as well as de-silting of the lakebed, Nimajjan pond separately formed, for keeping the lake intact. For visitors, many facilities, including bicycle and pedestrian (jogging and walking) paths of 1.8 km have been developed. For children, an integrated play spaces have been formed with the transplantation of mature tree line boundaries.

Several small gardens have been developed across the lake, like the Xerophyte garden. In order to promote fitness, physical fitness centres, including an open gym, have been set up at the lake.

To attract tourists and nature lovers, bridges, a jetty area, and a boulder park in the rock boulder conservation zone, with separate bird island, including a foot over the bridge, have been constructed.