No clarity on funds for facility at Uppal

Hyderabad: Foundation stone for a Mini-Shilparamam was laid in Uppal last month and deadline for the completion of works was set as October 2018. However, there is no clarity on budget for the project and from where it would be mobilised.

Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) had allocated nearly 9 acres for the construction of the facility along lines of Shilparamam, the unique and hugely successful arts and crafts village in Madhapur that is visited by nearly 20 lakh visitors every month.

Shilparamam Arts, Crafts and Cultural Society that takes care of the Madhapur facility is tasked with the responsibility to execute the new project, but works are yet to commence at the site. The metropolitan body had been asked to take up landscaping works including greenery improvement and lawns on the West side as done on the East side already. Once landscaping works are done, Mini-Shilparamam project design would be finalised and there would be clarity on costs, sources said.

However, another challenge for the project is that it falls in the Musi Buffer Zone which means permanent constructions are barred and Nuts and Bolts system of constructions is the only option. The facility was conceptualised to preserve and promote arts, crafts and culture under one umbrella to cater to the eastern population in the State capital. Also, the objective is to provide a window to rural life for city denizens and for those who were born and brought up in metro and not visited villages before.

Life sized huts and stalls made out of baked clay and thatch, food courts and multipurpose halls were part of the initial plans and it is still unclear how authorities would go ahead in view of buffer zone limitations. However, water management expert Dr Subba Rao had a different view.

He said that Central Water Commission had demarcated Flood line Areas applicable to all rivers in the country including Musi, Ganga, Godavari, Tungabhadra etc. and no type of constructions should be taken up in the prescribed area.

“For small rivers it is nearly upto 500 metres. The need of the hour is to demarcate Floodline Area taking into consideration changed climatic conditions resulting in extreme rainfall in a short time leading to flood like situation. This was witnessed during Tungabhadra floods when Kurnool town was submerged. This factor should be taken into consideration even for Musi,” he said.

By: Mahesh Avadhutha