Hyderabad: Encroachers threaten to gobble up Kappala Cheruvu

LB Nagar: Major part of the city was inundated due to the heavy rains last year. Meanwhile massive illegal encroachments of lakes and water bodies contributed to flooding in the city and surrounding areas that led to the death of 33 people in the previous year.

Once again, the encroachment of lands near lakes and streams is going unabated at one such lake called Kappala Cheruvu at Hastinapuram in LB Nagar. The land eaters are illegally setting up layout and plots at this lake and minting lakhs of rupees by selling them.

Sources said that land sharks have encroached upon the premises of Kappala lake, spread in nearly 20 acres in South Hastinapuram and established layout and further started constructing the boundary walls without obtaining the No Objection Certificate from the authorities.

Previously people residing in surrounding areas of the lake had to face many difficulties as the lake overflowed and caused flooding in several areas in 2020.

After the Hyderabad floods, the Telangana's Irrigation and Command Area Development (CAD) department conducted a study that said that around 50 per cent of all lakes and water bodies in and around the city have encroached. The study was undertaken to analyse the reasons behind the massive flooding and waterlogging in the city due to the mid-October 2020 heavy rains.

"After floods action was initiated by the department and all encroachments were removed but now due to the negligence of the Irrigation authority, encroachers are once again encroaching on the banks of lake and lands near the Kappala Cheruvu. Where the value of land per acre is more than Rs 4 crore," said a resident of Hastinapuram.

With the increasing value of the real estate in the city, several land sharks are taking over the lake. However, the land near the lakes is under a buffer zone, prone to flooding in heavy rains. Officials informed that during heavy rains two water bodies Kappala Cheruvu and Bathula Cheruvu overflowed after which residents were evacuated in the previous year.

Another resident Santosh Reddy demanded the authorities to safeguard the shrinking lake and conduct a survey to identify the full tank level (FTL) and must take action against the encroachers. He said, "Locals have gone through tough times in the previous year's flooding due to the lake encroachments; we cannot take one more flooding."

Speaking to The Hans India, Environmental activist Dr Lubna Sarwat said, "The department must immediately stop the encroachers, the lake is shrinking and is under threat of land sharks, earlier the lake was a major water resource for the locals but now it is shrinking with illegal encroachers taking over the land near to it."