The much-delayed initiative to clean the Hussainsagar lake has more obstacles coming its way.
Dredging of the lake, one of the components of the restoration exercise taken up by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA), has questions raised on dumping of the sediment removed from the water body.
The dredging operations at Picket Nala confluence point commenced last month, with a plan to shift the sediment to the Jawaharnagar dump yard, after a drying period at a temporary site at Sanjeevaiah Park. Ranga Reddy district authorities have now raised objections to Jawaharnagar being used as a dump yard. District Collector A. Vani Prasad, at a recent meeting, suggested exploring the possibilities of a site at Gopanpally, Hakimpet, Kokapet, Budwel, Jalpally, Kompally, Nagannapally or Thorrur village.
This has landed the HMDA authorities in a quandary since they had made arrangements to use existing quarry pits at Jawaharnagar. “This was cleared by a team of officials and also had approval of the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB),” said an official.
HMDA Commissioner Neerabh Kumar Prasad said the issue would be followed up with officials concerned. “We will be putting only the dried sediment from the lake and there should not be any concerns about it. Our idea is fill the existing quarry pit Jawaharnagar and develop a garden on it,” he said.
So far, nearly 5,000 cubic metre of sediment has been dredged and placed for drying at the temporary site.
The sediment has, however, been taking more than the initially estimated 10-15 days for drying. Measures including introduction of polymers for quicker drying have been taken up,” another official said.
