The Mallaka Cheruvu, on the fringes of Old Bombay Highway, is being turned into a pond for immersion of Ganesh idols. “We are going to put up fencing at the full tank level (FTL), and carry out a project for beautifying the lake. A Ganesh immersion foreshore will be created within three months,” said Y. Shekhar Reddy, Superintending Engineer of the GHMC.
A foundation stone for the work was laid on June 9 without much fanfare.
When his attention was drawn to the rampant encroachments on all sides of the lake, the GHMC official said: “Once we do the fencing and mark the FTL, we will notify the encroachers and seek legal help to get them to vacate the land.”
While the plans sound good on paper, the ground reality is different. The Mallaka Cheruvu is part of the geological ridge and valley that would take the overflow from the Durgam Cheruvu. With a small masjid at one end and a notified rock formation at the other, and bounded by road on one side, the lake has been hemmed in by encroachments from all sides. Now, untreated sewerage is also being released into the lake creating a foul smell.
Civic activists are not at all pleased with the development.
“I knew something is happening when I filed the RTI about the project, but I did not know about the Ganesh immersion plan. The information given for my RTI application shows that Rs. 1.6 crore is to be spent on the lake.
The planned work on the lake include plantation, illumination, civil items, and fabrication works. The plantation part of the work will be taken up by the GHMC while all the other works were shown as tentative,” informed Lubna Sarwath of Save Our Urban Lakes.
“GHMC officials have admitted that illegal rock quarrying is going on but this civil works bit in the plan shows that the lake will shrink further,” said Ms. Lubna.
