A few days ago, when several localities of the city were flooded during incessant downpour, a video went viral of one person trying his swimming skills on the highway at Chintalkunta area of L.B. Nagar.
Widely shared and spoofed, the video clip represented the severity of the flooding on the Vijayawada highway between Vanasthalipuram and Chintalkunta checkpost, where even parked cars had floated away.
Very few knew that if not on the road, flooding would have happened elsewhere — in Saraswathi Nagar and Hakeemabad colonies. All the water that streamed on to the road from colonies upstream actually belonged to the Pedda Cheruvu at Mansurabad, which was but 500 metres away on the other side of the main road.
Rain water streaming from the colonies surrounding Vanasthalipuram was to enter the storm water drain near Sushma Theatre across the road and empty into the lake. However, the drain was too narrow to hold the flood water which flowed down the road and resulted in inundation.
Another culvert across the road near Abhyudaya Nagar which would have joined the drain on the other side choked, leading to more flooding, officials from GHMC informed. The situation was made worse by the raised median near the Chintalkunta underpass, leading to formation of a virtual swimming pool there.
Attempts are on to widen the storm water drain, by construction of another box drain alongside the existing one. Earth moving machines could be seen working near the drain which was half dug, on Wednesday. Had the drain works been complete, the water would have entered the Pedda Cheruvu, resulting in overflow of the lake, and inundation of surrounding colonies.
Unbearable sewage stench greets any visitor to the lake, who ventures beyond the iron gate enclosing the lake bund within. The gate is installed as entry to a temple inside, which was constructed bang inside the FTL area, in violation of rules. Just a little further away is a mosque, also located in the FTL zone. Two industries, one defunct, apart from several other buildings were clustered inside the lake area, while more than a couple of roads are laid right through the FTL and buffer zones.
On the opposite side, a graveyard juts into the buffer zone, partially encroaching into the FTL too, while an immersion pond constructed inside the lake by GHMC for festival dumping too can be termed as a violation.
Surplus channel of the lake which empties into the Chinna Cheruvu behind Kamineni Hospitals towards Nagole is heavily encroached by colonies such as Saraswathi Nagar, Chandrapuri and others. Officials vouch that there is virtually no surplus course any more.
Pedda Cheruvu is one among the 19 lakes scheduled for beautification and development under the Urban Mission Kakatiya programme. However, no attempt can be seen to divert sewage entering the lake, though a walking track has been laid around it.
