Once a cattle pond in the forest, it was later converted into a percolation pond after Sri Venkateswara University came into existence. It then took the shape of a research-oriented aquaculture pond. After water ceased to flow, it was declared a dry pond and alas, now it is a sewage pond. The mind-numbing transformation of this huge water body is a pointer to the havoc wreaked on nature by human intervention.
The ‘Prakasam pond,’ located in the north-western corner of the campus, was developed abutting a stream carrying rainwater from the Tirumala hills, providing water round the year for grazing cattle. The shallow sand bed under the pond was fed by springs emanating from the abutting hills.
In 1973-74, geology professor R. Jagadiswara Rao developed it into a percolation pond with technical assistance from irrigation engineer T. Narayana Reddy, while the then Collector A. Valliappan funded it under the Crash Scheme for Rural Employment (CSRE) of the 4th Five Year Plan.
Recharge wells measuring 6 metres deep were built to ensure percolation. A masonry check-dam across the stream allowed for greater water recharge.
Human interference
To facilitate research, the same was later converted into a perennial pond by sealing the bottom of the well.
The substantial entry of upstream water into the pond during flash floods helped it serve as an excellent aquaculture farm. However, the rampant construction of check-dams, rock-fill dams and contour trenches upstream by TTD’s forest wing in the late Nineties rendered the water body dry.
The proverbial last nail on its coffin came in the form of sewage-cum-drain water flowing from the adjoining Sri Venkateswara Vedic University (SVVU) campus since 2011. “While septic/sewage treatment plants should ensure no release of surface water, the water from the Vedic University’s treatment plant overflows, gets into the dried-up stream and empties into this pond,” Dr. Jagadiswara Rao told The Hindu.
Recalling the pond’s metamorphosis in the last 40 years, the retired professor stresses the need for the stakeholders —SVU, TTD, Vedic University and MCT — to undo the damage done and restore it to ensure effective water recharge system.
Water from Vedic varsity’s sewage treatment plant empties into the pond
R. Jagadiswara Rao, former geology professor
