Hyderabad’s geography is set to change again with workers taking charge on the site where a suspension bridge over the Durgam Cheruvu will come up, cutting down the travel time between Jubilee Hills and Madhapur area. The 1,048-metre bridge will shrink the distance between the upscale area and an emerging business and residential area.
Construction workers have begun flattening rocks and lake bed on western elevated side of the lake which at one point of time was the source of drinking water for Golconda fort. The four-lane suspension bridge with pavement will be just 300 metres over the water, with the rest on land to compensate for the steep gradient between the two spots.
As a worker uses an earthmover to scoop out rocks and earth where the pillar of the suspension bridge lands, one thing is clear, a chunk of the lake will be lost on either side of the lake.
‘Best solution’
“There is something structurally wrong as only Road no 36 links this part of the city to the HiTec City area. Once Road no 45 is also connected, connectivity will improve. Every city needs a transport solution where lakhs of people have to commute between home and work places. We cannot wish it away. This is the best solution there is, if we can limit the impact on environment in a conscious way,” says an urban planner, not willing to go on record.
“Traffic is so horrendous in that part of the city. Something has to be done. But what I feel is that the rock structures around the lake should be protected and there should be no further damage. There are beautiful rock formations on the Ambedkar University side that should be protected,” said Frauke Qadir of Society to Save Rocks.
Further pressure
But not everyone is as sanguine about the bridge and how it will change the topography of the area.
“There will be a bridge, but no water. Already vast swathes of land on all sides of Durgam Cheruvu have been encroached by lowering the dam level. Officials are not willing to demarcate the Full Tank Level and evict squatters. The bridge will further put pressure on the western side where a whole range of office and residential complexes have come up,” says activist Lubna Sarwath of Save Our Urban Lakes, who is pushing for stopping construction activity around the lake at the FTL mark.
According to a Telangana State House Committee findings, the area of the lake bed that has been lost due to encroachments has gone up from 40 acres in 2010 to 65 acres in 2016 mostly on the northern and eastern side of the lake. “What I have understood is that the bridge is meant only for private transport and no buses will be allowed. This is unfair as public money is being spent and buses should be allowed to ply on the road if they go ahead with the project,” said Ms Sarwath.
