Hyderabad: Efforts on to clean Hussain Sagar amid pollution complaints

Amid complaints over pollution, authorities have stepped up cleaning of Hussain Sagar lake using floating trash skimmers and an amphibious excavator. Officials said waste thrown by visitors and weeds entering from Kukatpally nala are being removed as part of a continuous cleaning drive

Hyderabad: Amid growing complaints about the condition of Hussain Sagar lake, efforts are on to clean the water body and remove the floating trash and wild growth.

According to officials involved in the exercise, lake cleaning is being carried out with the deployment of an amphibious excavator and seven floating trash skimmers. While the floating trash skimmers are removing solid waste such as plastic material, broken plastic bottles, toys, chocolate wrappers, rubber, leather, other waste material and thermocol, the amphibious excavator is removing weeds and hyacinth entering Hussain Sagar Lake from the Kukatpally nala.

An assistant engineer of the Buddha Purnima Project Authority (BPPA) told Telangana Today that hundreds of visitors coming to NTR Garden, Necklace Road, Tank Bund and Sanjeevaiah Park end up throwing solid waste into the lake, leading to pollution. The official said floating trash skimmers have been deployed in these areas to clean the lake.

Around 10 tonnes of solid waste are being cleared by these trash skimmers from the lake, the official said. The workforce is also removing solid waste piled up at the corners of the lake on a daily basis. As the trash skimmers cannot enter the Kukatpally nala, BPPA is using an amphibious excavator to remove weeds and hyacinth, the official added.

The official said cleaning the lake is a continuous process and that in 2014, BPPA used three trash skimmers before increasing the number to nine. Seven skimmers are working at Hussain Sagar Lake, while the remaining two have been deployed elsewhere, the official said.