An instance of water body cut-off from feeder channels

Hyderabad: Even as parts of the State witnessed heavy flooding, Shaikpet’s Yerrakunta stands as an instance of a city lake that has been cut-off from the feeder channels supporting the water body.

The lake was transformed into a recreational spot by GHMC a few years back, but remains a facility sans water. Interestingly, the authorities had already declared part of FTL and Buffer Zone as encroached more than a decade back. Once a beautiful lake, it now remains dry and barely known to non-locals, despite GHMC’s beautification attempts. Not far from the IT corridor, the real estate boom in recent years has placed this lake under the risk of complete disappearance.

The lake which comes under Shaikpet village in Shaikpet mandal has Lake ID–3902. As per Revenue records, 36,672 sq m was declared as part of FTL and 8,696 sq m remains part of the Buffer Zone. The extent of the lake is more than 7 acres, as per Pahani. The GHMC’s survey of 2013 indentified water spread area of the lake at 3.596 acres and the tank boundary at 8.887 acres, while the FTL remains undeclared. If the map is observed, the CC road on the north side and part of society and CC road inside it on the north west remains under the buffer zone.

Historically, Shaikpet Cheruvu emptied its overflow into the Nehr Hussain Shah Wali, a canal built to channelise overland flow into the far away Hussain Sagar. This canal now called as Shaikpet nala has turned into a stream for sewage water, even as the chain from the upstream Malkam cheruvu and other lakes have been cut off from the Shaikpet lake.

Locals have demanded that the authorities not only restore the lake to its original size, but also restore its feeder channel for rejuvenating the water body.

“I don’t think the pipes laid to feed the lake are of use, as the historically set up canal has lost link with this lake. It is high time that the authorities take up the re-survey of the lake based on historical documents, so that the original extent of the lake is known,” demanded Mohd Habeebuddin, a local heritage activist.