Hyderabad: Green Team restoring 'Garuda Pushkarini' its past glory

Hyderabad: Green Team, a conservation group with five members, aims to restore the 'Garuda Pushkarini' a historic stepwell near Wanaparthy. The objective of the team is to protect and safeguard the well for future generations and get it back to life.

A few team members say, "when we were kids, we used to come for evening walks along with our grandparents; we used to play around the well. It was so much joy to see fish jumping and turtles swimming in the freshwater well. But now, it is unfortunate to see it lifeless, filled with plastic and other pollutants."

The well, which was constructed in 1868, provides three feet of groundwater. Its gates continue to remain functional.

The well can hold 37 lakh liters of water, however, only 25 liters can be filled.

Initially, the team cleaned the surroundings of the well and pumped out water without disturbing aquatic life. The surrounding area was cleaned up over the course of four Sundays with the assistance of volunteers. Later, they removed trash inside for which they hired skilled labour and a crane to remove huge rocks from the shattered wall of the well as well as mud and heaps of plastic waste. For the reconstruction of the dismantled structure the team approached the Raja Rameshwar Rao Trust which sent experienced workers to construct a wall and complete a few other tasks that were necessary to prevent further damage.

After rebuilding the wall, natural spring water emerged from the ground well and contained approximately 3 lakh liters of fresh water. One can clearly see hundreds of fish and turtles swimming insider. The water warrior Kalpana Ramesh, founder of the Rainwater Project, visited Garuda Pushkarini along with her team and architects and provided valuable insights and suggestions for the Green Team.

Speaking to The Hans India, one of the team members Divya says, "Most women as part of religious celebrations throw tonnes of waste in nearby water bodies, like lakes, ponds or wells. Please stop doing this as it will affect the aquatic life. Instead, we can try compost or reuse or recycle the waste produced."

Another team member, Krishna, appeals to the public to avoid throwing waste into the well and to prevent it the team wants to build a fencing around it. They are looking for help and support for the same.