In view of the ongoing Ganesh festivities, the Telangana Pollution Control Board has undertaken an exercise to monitor water bodies in and around the city.
Ten lakes to be analysed From the start of the festival till the immersion day, ten lakes will be tested and analysed five times for water quality assessment.
The lakes that will be monitored include Hussainsagar, Kapra, Saroornagar, Saki Tank, Pragatinagar Cheruvu besides others. The TSPCB officials planned to conduct the lake water analysis on September 14, 18, 21, 25 and 28. For the Hussainsagar lake, water samples will be drawn from six points to check pollution levels. All the samples will be tested for eight parameters.“The first two rounds of monitoring showed that the lake water has not been polluted much. This is because the immersion of idols has just started,” said a senior official of the Board, declining to be identified. “We are expecting to see decreased oxygen levels in some water bodies. Similarly, after the final day of immersion there might be a significant increase in COD (chemical oxygen demand) and BOD (bio-checmical oxygen demand) readings. The drastic changes in the readings is because of the various materials that will be immersed during the festival,” he explained.
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The PCB has also taken up similar exercises in selected lakes across Telangana. The final report of the findings of all the lakes will be released to the public by the Board, he added.