Hyacinth and encroachers galore

Recently, the GHMC had taken up the responsibility of identifying all the water bodies in the city which come under its limits. Apart from identifying the lakes, they also sought to take up measures to keep the lakes clean and prevent encroachment of these water bodies. But of all the lakes they identified, the Kapra Lake was not on their priority list. In order to grab the attention of government and concerned authorities towards the shoddy condition of the lake, BJP officials took out a rally on Sunday. The rally began from Netaji Nagar X Roads, Kapra and culminated at Kapra Lake.

The rally was headed by NVSS Prabhakar, State General Secretary, BJP. There were about 60 people who took part in the rally. Most of the participants of the rally were BJP party supporters, though there was some participation by a few locals. The participants were shouting slogans like ‘Save the Kapra Lake’ during the rally.

On reaching the lake NVSS Prabhakar said, “This lake is of historical importance. It is a vital water source to the 50,000 people who live in its vicinity. Now this lake has become a hub for effluents. It has also fallen prey to encroachers from all sides. We want the officials to take note of this lake, additionally we also want them to take up a survey of this lake which is spread over 113 acres. The lake also has to be fenced.”

He further added that the lake has become prone to excessive encroachments and severe action should be taken against encroachers by the law enforcers. Prabhakar also lamented on the deploring health of the lake and asked the officials to look into the clearance of the hyacinth that is present in the lake.

“All these encroachers have blocked the naalas and drains which bring water into the lake. This eventually will dry up the lake. As a consequence, the land barons will get a few more acres of land to encroach upon. We are demanding the officials to seriously look into this matter. We want them to designate a Full Tank Level (FTL) for this lake also”, said NVSS Prabhakar.

Also present at the rally was Deeti Mallaiah, State President, Andhra Pradesh Gangaputra Sangham. He said, “Earlier, a lot of fishing activity used to take place in this lake but now since the lake has become so polluted, there is no scope for the local fisherman. This lake also has all the capability to become a tourist destination if it is maintained well. In the 70’s, even NTR shot a song over here, but now it is reeking of garbage and is filled with hyacinth and encroachers.”