Hyderabad: Krishna Kanth Park water bodies dry up, turn into playgrounds

Three water bodies in Hyderabad’s Krishna Kanth Park have dried up within six months, upsetting walkers and altering the park’s landscape. GHMC attributes the issue to groundwater depletion, while HYDRAA has identified the lakes for rejuvenation planning.

Hyderabad: Three water bodies in Krishna Kanth Park in Yousufguda, said to be one of the city’s largest parks, went dry within six months, leaving daily walkers upset and turning the dried up areas into playgrounds where local children are playing cricket and youth practicing volleyball.

In place of what used to be a water body, the local youth were seen playing volleyball, and in the remaining two dried up water bodies, several teams of cricket were playing.

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During the last monsoon, all three water bodies at Krishna Kanth were at the brim but the GHMC apparently failed to maintain them properly due to water hyacinth and green algae. Within six months, all three water bodies completely dried up.

GHMC Urban Biodiversity (UBD) Director V Venkateshwara Rao told ‘Telangana Today’ that the water bodies in Krishna Kanth Park were found to have dried due to groundwater depletion.

Officials of the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Protection Agency (Hydraa), recently visited Krishna Kanth Park and short-listed three water bodies spread on 27.35 acres in Krishna Kanth Park, for lake rejuvenation on the lines of Bathukkamma Kunta in Amberpet, the GHMC official said.

Water bodies dry up, leaving walkers upset

Daily walkers said water bodies in the park dried up, leaving areas that were previously water-covered now appearing as barren land. The walkers were upset over the change and raised concerns after the water bodies were found to have dried up.

A few walkers said the water bodies stood as an attraction for visitors when they were at their brim during the rainy season. They said the water bodies suddenly emptied, and the park lost its glory.

Moreover, the greenery in the Krishna Kanth park face a serious threat due to the severe summer. At least 20,000 visitors, including walkers and residents of nearby colonies, were coming to the park daily and spending time there during the morning and evening hours.

Walkers feel that unless the GHMC officials take up alternative arrangements to protect the park’s greenery, the park will lose its huge green cover as the city is already losing greenery due to new flyovers and underpasses.