Cleansing process begins for Hussainsagar lake

Approximately 88 lakh tones and close to 5 million cubic metres of silt will be excavated from the Hussainsagar which 5.7 sq. km in area in a budget of less than Rs 100 crore. For the Hussainsagar dewatering project which was to be started by December 15 by the state government is behind by two months.

Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority, Irrigation and Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation are the three government departments which are to be involved in the draining process. The two Sewerage Treatment Plans (STP) as per the present plan will be blocked to stop the water entering the lake during the draining process which includes the diversion of the Kukatpally nala. In about 15 days half of the lake is said to be emptied with 24-hour pumping and 5 million cubic metres of silt is expected to be removed by the department. Once the water starts getting emptied towards the Hyderabad Sailing club through the outlet between Viceroy Hotel and Buddha Bhavan, smaller lakes will be created within the Hussainsagar.

A senior HMDA official stated that to deposit the silt instead of transporting it to the outskirts to drastically reduce the budget, the government is contemplating on creating island structures at the Kukatpally nala as the budget for depositing waste is about Rs 20 crore.

With the estimated amount of silt to be removed, an island has to be created with 20-30 acres of land without blocking the flow of Kukatpally nala. For treatment, the Hussainsagar water would be diverted to the Amberpet STP and further to Musi River. Half-a-million cubic metres of waste have been removed with the ongoing dredging process of the Picket, Balkapur and Banjara nalas.