Once pristine, the lake now a pond of filth

Rajendranagar: The historic Bam-Ruknud-Dowlah lake in Shivrampally which used to quench the thirst of people seeking cristal-clear pure water, has now become pond of filth emanating unbearable stench.

Surprisingly, no measures are being taken to protect the water body from being gobbled up by the land sharks and flowing of household sewage into the more than 250-year-old lake.

According to official records, a noble in Nizam's era RuknudDowla had constructed this lake and named this spring after HazrathInaam Hussain. In those days when pure and sweet water was scarce in the city, this reservoir was built by Nawab Mir Musa Khan Ruknud Dowlah, the then Prime Minister of Asif Jah II. The water of the reservoir was pure and sweet to such a degree that besides the general public and the aristocracy, the Asifiyah Kings too used to drink it and even preserve it for their use.

Whenever the kings of Hyderabad went out of their dominions, the crystal-clear water of Bam-Ruknud-Dowlah was dispatched every day to the royal camp as far as Delhi and Shimla. The other name of this reservoir is Musa Bam or HussainiNahr (stream).

The stream, once considered as the elixir of life, has now became a pond of stink as the sewerage flowing from surrounding localities turn the gasping water body into filth while the garbage strewn around the canal gave it a complete dirty ambiance.

"Only after repeated representations, the HMDA finally roped in ARVEE consultants to perform the survey and find out the actual Full Tank Level (FTL) of the historic lake in the year 2013 and in 2014 the survey was completed. However, the official concerned neither uploaded the FTL plan online nor they provided a copy of the same to the National Green Tribunal – where the case is pending - or the SOUL, an NGO on who's whistle blowing the NGT was taken up the issue sue motto," said LubnaSarwath, ex-convener of SOUL and State General Secretary Socialists Party of India.

The encroachment around the stream puts the water body into gasping for breath, the inflow of sewerage from surrounding locality pushes the natural resource closure to the verge of extinction, she added. "The stream, which erupted out of earth like theZamZam (a well in the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, considered to be holy and pristine) about 330 years ago can quench the thirst of city inhabitants who are facing severe water scarcity. But it has now unfortunately turned into a pond of filth and stink, " she said.

"The condition of the water body is such that a single sip of the water can kill anybody as its contaminants have turned toxic. The officials concerned are not only ignorant about the history of the water bodies but have no proper idea of the actual boundaries of the lake resulting in the encroachers taking advantage of the situation and simply turning the lake into another venture," she bemoaned.