IDL lake cries for attention Locals

Last year, the then MA&UD Minister KT Rama Rao took the initiative of beautifying the lake and in October last, he inaugurated the Lake Front Development of Rangadhamuni Cheruvu.

Hyderabad: Hyacinth has taken over this water body and garbage is strewn along its banks. Hit by an apathetic administration and carelessness on part of local residents, the Rangadhamuni Lake, popularly known as IDL lake, in Kukatpally cries for attention and care.

Last year, the then MA&UD Minister KT Rama Rao took the initiative of beautifying the lake and in October last, he inaugurated the Lake Front Development of Rangadhamuni Cheruvu.

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The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) had then developed the park with a budget of Rs 9.80 crore. The lake front development with paver blocks, landscape and other features had indeed beautified and made it into a popular hangout and selfie-spot for the locals.

However, the other side of IDL lake paints a sorry picture with poor maintenance and awareness. Sushanth, a local resident, laments that the conditions of the lake here have deteriorated and the stench from it has become unbearable. “When it rains, it gets even worse. The water stagnates and becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Many people in the locality have suffered bouts of malaria and dengue due to poor maintenance.

I have even spotted snakes on multiple occasions here,” he says. The area is littered with garbage from the local community, and the water, which has been taken over by hyacinth, is simply not supportive of aquatic life due to high pollution.

The unfitted sewage pipes, which lie scattered along the banks of the lake, suggest that the engineering works have not been finished either. A local GHMC worker conceded that the pipes were supposed to be laid down for drainage purposes, but due to infrastructure errors, the project was scrapped. Some of the local residents tried to reach out to GHMC officials with their complaint but the efforts went in vain.

“I, myself, have tweeted multiple times about the poor state of the back side of the lake and tagged several senior GHMC officials, but we have never received any reply from them,” says Sushanth.

The residents appeals the civic body to pay attention to the problems immediately as the monsoon has just begun and the situation could aggravate further. “We request the authorities to clean up the lake and complete the unfinished engineering tasks,” a local says.

The civic body workers however also blame the local community for littering the banks of the lake. One of them points out that the banks of the lake have become an easy target to dump the garbage and adds, “Even when we clean the area, the locals throw their garbage without any care.”