Mir Alam lake: From historic jewel to polluting pond, neglect takes its toll

Ranga Reddy: Despite the construction of a 6.5-kilometre long sewage diversion canal around the historic Mir Alam lake four years ago, the water body continues to remain heavily polluted.

The canal, which was built with an estimated outlay of around Rs.7 crore under Mission Kakatiya in 2019, was intended to redirect sewage from surrounding colonies into the Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) located within the lake for proper treatment. However, the canal appears to have failed to serve its purpose, as filth from nearby colonies continues to flow into the lake, with STPs appearing to be dysfunctional.

The Mir Alamlake, built during the rule of Asif Jah-III in 1806, is spread over an area of 465 acres and has a catchment area of 5.90 sq.km.

Despite officials from Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) making several visits to the water body in the past, the issue of sewage inflow remains persisting. Although GHMC claims to have built a comprehensive sewage canal around the lake, nearby residents continue to complain about the messy state of affairs around the water body.

While some pipelines were grounded in the Hasan Nagar area to redirect sewage, they were not connected correctly to the STPs within the lake. Furthermore, faulty measures in setting up pipelines have compounded the problem, with old pipelines passing too deep and new ones laid too high.

The lack of efficacious measures to ensure the beautification of the lake and the persistent issue of sewage inflow into the water body has resulted in the 217-year-old Mir Alam Lake turning into a pond of filth, much to the dismay of locals.

In the name of building a diversion canal some pipelines were grounded in Hasan Nagar side to redirect the sewage, however, the same was not connected properly to STPs existing in the water body.

More so, faulty measures in setting pipelines too played a spoil spot as the old lines are passing quite deep while the new lines were laid quite upward only to make the issue more complex," said Mohd Iqbal, a resident of Hassan Nagar.