Warangal needs a HYDRA-like entity

Warangal: The demand for establishing a potent body like Hyderabad Disaster Response and Assets Monitoring and Protection (HYDRA), an exclusive entity to tackle challenges such as disasters, encroachments and illegal constructions that have come up on buffer zones, sikham lands and lakebeds in Greater Warangal is growing shriller in the tri-cities – Warangal, Hanumakonda and Kazipet.

Even though the government had constituted a Lake Protection Committee, comprised of bureaucrats and NGO representatives, under the aegis of Kakatiya Urban Development Authority (KUDA) in 2018 to protect the water bodies from encroachments, by and large it failed to attain the desired results. According to the draft master plan, there are nearly 1,000 water bodies within the limits of KUDA. Of which 247 water bodies are in Greater Warangal, but the spread of urban sprawl gobbled up more than half of them.

Despite the High Court orders to raze the illegal construction that have come up in the sikham land and lakebeds, the authorities failed to fulfill their task in four major tanks – Bhadrakali Pond, Bandham Cheruvu, Chinna Waddepally, Kota Cheruvu etc, buckling under the pressure exerted by the politicians.

So far, little over 100 illegal constructions of the total 249 have been demolished around Bhadrakali Pond. The authorities who identified 366 unauthorised constructions around Bandham Cheruvu razed only seven of them.

There are 329 illegal constructions near Chinna Waddepally tank. Only seven of them were razed. Only four illegal constructions around Kota Cheruvu have been removed out of 150. It indicates the functioning of officials concerned with protecting the lakes.

According to the NIT Warangal Retired Prof. M Panduranga Rao, human settlements occupying lakes and water bodies have drastically affected urban storm-water management. Even a modest rain is leaving the tri-cities waterlogged, he says.

Speaking to The Hans India, Forum for Better Warangal President Pulluru Sudhakar said, “At a time when the waterbodies are disappearing quickly, definitely Greater needs an entity like HYDRA to protect whatever remains. Only a few waterbodies exist even though Revenue records say Greater Warangal has 247.”