Residents kick up stink over stench from tank

Ramakistapuram: Heaps of garbage and perennial stench emanating from Ramakistapuram Lake, also known as Mukidi Cheruvu, have made the lives of locals nightmarish. It has affected the day to day activities of the residents living around the lake.

The residents of two colonies beside the lake - New Balaji Colony and Bank Colony are facing hardships due to the foul smell that envelops the area, particularly in the evenings. The filthy surroundings have become a breeding haven for mosquitos. Adding to this, the GHMC has dug out a temporary open sewage channel to stop sewage entering the lake from nearby localities.

Kavita, a resident of the Bank Colony, said, "As we stay just adjacent to the lake, there is a lot of unpleasant smell present here throughout the day. Garbage is dumped all over the lanes in the colonies which leads to mosquito menace. My younger sister was hospitalised a week ago for dengue infection.

We had to spend around Rs 2.5 lakh on her treatment." The residents of the colonies also alleged that the officials were giving just one excuse that lake work was going on. All that one can see here was an empty lake with unpleasant smell, dogs, pigs and mosquitos all over the area 24/7.

Explaining the condition of the lake, Prasad, Executive Engineer for Lakes and Irrigation, GHMC East Zone, said, "So far the de-filtering of the lake has been completed. The land acquisition cases are slowing down the sewage diversion work. Meanwhile, a temporary open sewage channel has been made to stop the sewage waste entering into the lakes."

When The Hans India visited the colonies, it was found that all the sewage waste from the nearby colonies and carcasses of animals and remained parts of butchering etc., were being dumped near the lake, sparking malodorous smell in the area.

Kunal, who has an independent house adjacent to the lake in New Balaji Colony, said that there were a lot of dogs and pigs in this area. He further said, "the butchers in the area dispose of the leftover body parts of pigs, mutton and chicken into the lake or in the open plots near the lake. Due to this, there are many dogs in the area that come to eat the wastes."