Kondaveti Vaagu to turn major tourist attraction

Once a bane to the villages downstream, the stream will be developed on the lines of Tank Bund in Hyderabad. The move will provide respite to the villagers from constant flooding and will also attract tourists

Kondaveeti Vaagu, which surfaces at Kondaveeti Hill Range in Pelecherla during heavy rains, has for decades been a bane to the villages of Velagampudi, Malkapuram, Mandadam, Krishnayyapalem, Penumaka, Neerukonda, Koragallu, Shekamuru, Iyanavolu and Nedapadu. The rains create a flood like situation and submerge crop fields, roads and houses in low lying areas.

However, what was once the cause of bane will hereafter be a boon, thanks to the flood water management project announced by Minister for Municipal Administration P Narayana. The project is aimed at designing a Hussainsagar like lake in Hyderabad at the very source of the stream for the express purpose of supplying water to the new capital city region and also to attract tourists. An expert committee will be designing and working on the project in tune with the capital master plan.

The flood waters can be arrested at the very place by creating a lake and by bunding it. According to minor irrigation executive engineer M Babu Rao, there is scope for linking the project to Buckingham Canal with a mini-port in place and promoting water ways transportation which would cut down expenditure on the project. The project will be located right in the middle of the capital city region.

The minister Narayana stated that if the problem was not tackled scientifically, it will play havoc in the master plan areas of the capital city. Until last year, people had put up with submerging of agriculture fields as it was a 3-day phenomenon every year over a stretch of 12 km. About 5 tmc of water is coughed up by the incessant rains each year. The idea is to store atleast 3-4 tmc of water by creating a lake and bunding it. Technical details of the project will be worked out by an expert committee.

By:Ravi P Benjamin