Operation clean up of Nakka Vagu begins today

• It is intended to restore the picturesque lake
• It attracts 90 species of birds throughout the year

Hyderabad: A multi institutional initiative for cleaning up and conservation of the Nakka Vagu (Fox Sagar Lake) in north Hyderabad is to begin on Sunday. This was decided at a meeting of officials of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation,

the Ranga Reddy district Collectorate, the Telangana State Department of Industries, the State Pollution Control Board and representatives of the Jeedimetla Industrial Area, the fishermen who earn a livelihood from the lake, had with Tejdeep Kaur Menon, DG, TSSPF in the city on Saturday.

Dumping of waste from the nearby industrial estates, sewage from the residential areas in the vicinity of the lake in Qutballapur Mandal, digging of borewells to tap water around the lake, the wastes from the ‘shaadi khanas’ in the contiguous areas and the burning of plastic and garbage are among the identified threats to the 482 acre lake.

The meeting noted while there has not been any large scale encroachment of the lake area and its environs, the damage is being caused by the incessant use of the lake and its neighbourhood as dumping grounds for waste. The meeting discussed measures to tide over the problems.

All the agencies are to jointly launch operation clean Fox Sagar campaign on Sunday as a prelude to implementing any plan for the restoration of the picturesque lake that is also a big draw for many species of birds.

The Hyderabad Birding Pals is collating data gathered from bird buffs who have gone for photo shoot sessions to the Fox Sagar Lake in recent years. Current estimates are that about 90 species flock to Fox Sagar in the course of a year.

The comprehensive survey and data generation exercise is to begin with a bird walk at Fox Sagar on Sunday.