Encroachments caused disappearance of nearly half of Hyderabad’s lakes, says Revanth Reddy

Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy asserted that the government would not tolerate encroachments on lakes and tanks, defending HYDRAA's demolition drive as essential for restoring water bodies and preventing urban flooding in Hyderabad.

Hyderabad: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Wednesday declared that he will not tolerate encroachments on lakes and tanks, justifying HYDRAA’s demolition drive as necessary to restore water bodies and protect Hyderabad from urban flooding. He said the government would focus on developing a lake economy alongside the Musi river rejuvenation project.

Inaugurating the restored Thammidikunta lake, Revanth Reddy said the waterbody, which had shrunk to 14 acres, was expanded to 30 acres. He thanked actor Akkineni Nagarjuna for voluntarily handing over two acres to the government.

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He said Hyderabad, once known as a city of rocks and lakes, had 1,372 lakes, but nearly half had disappeared due to encroachments and other reasons. He said the loss of water bodies had disrupted natural drainage, leaving roads and colonies inundated during rains, and called for their restoration to address the problem.

Recalling that the Nizam had built Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar to protect the city from Musi floods, Revanth Reddy said the river had now become polluted, forcing people in Nalgonda district to suffer the consequences of government neglect.

He asserted that the Musi River needed rejuvenation and said the first phase of works would begin shortly. Assuring that no one would suffer any loss in the process, he appealed to political parties to support the project.

He proposed developing Thammidikunta lake as a hub for lake-based economic activity and cultural celebrations.