Hyderabad: HYDRAA uncovers illegal borewell hidden under mattress in Madhapur bedroom

HYDRAA uncovered an illegal borewell concealed inside a bedroom in Madhapur during a crackdown on groundwater extraction. Officials traced underground pipelines allegedly supplying tanker water to consumers, while previous tests near Sunnam Cheruvu found hazardous heavy metals in groundwater.

Hyderabad: Borewell operators in Madhapur came up with an unique way to surreptitiously steal water from the ground and sell it. They dug up a bore in the bedroom, hid it under a mattress and concealed the network of plastic pipeline by running it underground.

The incident came to light on Saturday during a Hydraa crackdown against commercial exploitation and illegal extraction of groundwater. During the crackdown, officials were in surprise on coming across an illegal borewell hidden in a bedroom.

---

From the bedroom, a labyrinth of plastic pipelines slithered across the neighbourhood illegally pumping groundwater and supplying it through tankers to consumers at higher tariffs.

Over the years, the water mafia has dug up hundreds of illegal borewells and erected sheds within the lake’s FTL to draw millions of litres of water daily, threatening the local groundwater table and lake’s ecological balance, officials said.

Hydraa detected dozens of high-powered illegal borewells operating without valid groundwater permits in the buffer and catchment zones. Drones were used to track the network and later earthmovers were deployed to remove the pipelines, Hydraa said in a press release

The operation was conducted in the presence of Revenue and CMC officials under police security.

In June, the Telangana State Pollution Control Board (TGSPCB) tested groundwater samples and found that groundwater extracted near Sunnam Cheruvu contained hazardous heavy metals, including lead, cadmium and nickel, which pose health risks such as cancer, liver damage and heart disease.