Locals raise alarm over dead fish in Mushki Cheruvu

Hyderabad: Locals living around Mushki Cheruvu in Manikonda have been waking up to a nauseating stench for the past one week. They have been observing, much to their distress, hundreds of dead fish floating in the lake, which was previously considered among the city's freshwater lakes.

Locals urged the Telangana Pollution Control Board to take the water samples for testing. They say the reason may be due to sewage water entering the lake. Few locals shared that they found dead fish not only floating in the lake, but also washed ashore. The stench has only increased in the last few days as the dead fish are decaying. This has been happening since the heavy downpour that occurred a few days ago.

“The cause behind the death of fish is yet to be ascertained and the reason may be due to depleting oxygen levels, with sewage waste flowing into the water body. This lake used to be the livelihood of many fishermen. We have complained to the Manikonda Municipal Corporation many times to divert the sewage water, but all our requests fell on deaf ears,” said Mahesh.

“This situation occurred due to apathy of the concerned officials and lack of proper maintenance of the water body. Last year itself, sewage water from the surrounding areas was flowing into the lake.

We have brought this issue to the concerned officials several times but no concrete measures were taken, said Gowtham, another local.

Madhulika Chowdhary, founder of Dhruvansh (an NGO that has been working to protect this lake) said, “I have been observing this lake since 2014.

It used to receive good water from the Fakkruddin Gutta side, but couldn’t retain it. In 2020, we addressed seepage issues and improved water retention.

For the past four years, the lake held water effectively. But at present, once again sewage from surroundings is flowing into the lake and the main reason is due illegal encroachment. Once it was considered among the city's freshwater lakes but now it is one of the most polluted lakes”.

She raised concerns about the lake’s current state. “The irrigation department breached the lake weir, preventing it from reaching its full capacity of 54 acres. Currently, it only holds water up to 15 acres,” Madhulika added.