Ibrahimpatnam Lake loses purity

Ranga Reddy: Ibrahimpatnam was marked by the big lake that used to come up on the right side of the road as you drive from Hyderabad towards Vijayawada after crossing the Outer Ring Road. There is no existence of any lake now.

Ibrahimpatnam Lake which was full of pure and crystal -clear water even till three decades ago is now gone dry with no aquatic life left.

The lakebed is a vast grazing ground for the sheep and goats. Also, a few houses have been coming up over there. The earliest human civilization began on the banks of rivers.

Sadly, along with the catchment, the Lake has also lost most of the water bodies network. Even the feeder channel has been enroached upon reducing its flood capacity. Today, the water present there is unfit for human or animal consumption with dissolved solids touching 7,551 mg per liter during summer, as against the maximum permissible limit of 1,000 mg per litre.

A recent research study revealed that the salt content in the lake is abnormally high. The organic or in-organic components are mostly due to the human sources like industries or daily waste dumps.

The chloride content in the lake is 30 times more than the permissible limit due to which the aquatic life in the water body was badly hit.