Green drive for more lung space in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: The Telangana government has laid special emphasis on developing urban lung spaces in the form of ample greenery in and around Hyderabad while simultaneously executing big-ticket infrastructure projects like road widening, construction of flyovers, underpasses, Road under Bridges (RuBs) and Road over Bridges (RoBs). As a part of this exercise, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development […]

Hyderabad: The Telangana government has laid special emphasis on developing urban lung spaces in the form of ample greenery in and around Hyderabad while simultaneously executing big-ticket infrastructure projects like road widening, construction of flyovers, underpasses, Road under Bridges (RuBs) and Road over Bridges (RoBs).

As a part of this exercise, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) and Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), in the last 12 to 18 months have launched numerous initiatives in the form of urban-themed parks, not only to increase the green cover but also the aesthetic.

Apart from HMDA and GHMC, the Hyderabad Growth Corridor Limited (HGCL) Urban Forestry wing which is a part of the HMDA is also maintaining more than 63 lakh plants along the Outer Ring Road (ORR).

So far, the GHMC in its jurisdiction has developed around 20 theme parks while 53 more parks will be developed soon, senior officials of the civic body said.

Presently, civil works are in progress at 27 theme-based parks while the development of the remaining lung spaces is under various stages of implementation.

Some of the parks with unique concepts that will come up include a women’s theme park in LB Nagar zone and Serilingampally zone with women empowerment as a theme, Children Park each in Serilingampally, LB Nagar and Kukatpally zones.

Meanwhile, to promote the culture of Telangana, a Bathukamma park will soon come up in the Kukatpally zone. These theme parks are in addition to the 75 freedom parks that will dot different parts of the city. As part of Swatantra Bharata Vajrotsavam 2022, the GHMC identified 75 open spaces in different parts of the city to be developed as ‘Freedom Parks’.

To maintain the green cover, the HMDA has adopted several environmental conservation measures. The plants and saplings on the central medians and avenue plantations along the 158 km Outer Ring Road (ORR) stretch are embedded with a drip irrigation system that will take care of the watering needs of the plantations.

With a drip irrigation system in place, the HMDA in addition to cutting down the expenditure on manually watering the plants has also put an end to the use of water tankers, which also goes long a way in reducing pollution.