MOTHER NATURE June 2017 | Page 11

2017 11 GRIM SIDE OF TELANGANA MUSI MESSY Musi River is also known by its name Muchukunda River yet no one uses it now or they are cognizant of it as it was its old name. While Hyderabad owes its birth to Musi, the river, despite losing its charm to urban development, is a reminiscent of glorious past. The Musi, which is a tributary of the river Krishna, is sarcastically referred to as the city's sewage drain because most of 1,300 million litres day sewage generated by Hyderabad ends up there . Musi being part of the Central Government’s National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) for the past six years. 51 nalas on the 30km stretch of Musi which runs through Greater Hyderabad emit sewage directly into the river. Only 605 MLD of the 1,300 MLD sewage generated is treated. The rest reaches the river untreated. The biggest threat to Musi today is the waste from the Hussain Sagar Lake - which is also being cleaned - being diverted into the river. Water from the Musi flows into fields in low-lying areas, contaminating vegetables. The Impact of the pollution on health and eco- nomic conditions of downstream villages found that the pollution gave rise to several major problems including a high incidence of diseases Even to confirm whether man can survive outside this planet, scientists first check whether there is water on that body or not. Such high is the importance of water. Even 70% of hu- man body is made up of water. A Japanese Scientist named Masaru Emoto scientists proved that water responds to hu- man thoughts, by studying the shape of water crystals formed after expressing different moods. The experiment proved that negative thoughts create bad water and by extending this experiment we can say that bad water creates negative thoughts. Now imagine living near a river which is totally pol- luted with untreated industrial wastes and a river which emits foul ammonia smell. Imagine how the children of that area would be, how their childhood would be and what goes on in their brain. The river is Musi in heart of the city of pearls, Hyderabad. Dubbed as the biggest disaster in Hyderabad, Musi is one of the most polluted rivers in the nation and the banks of the river homes many slums of the city. It is time we come to- gether to change this and make the life of the people better. Hyderabad is the city of pearls with people whose hearts are as beautiful as pearls. Musi River is a tributary of Krishna River in the Deccan Pla- teau flowing through Telangana state in India. Hyderabad stands on the banks of Musi river, which divides the historic old city with the new city. Himayat Sagar and Osman Sagar are dams built on it which used to act as source of water for Hyderabad. The river originates in Anantagiri Hills near Vikarabad, Ranga Reddy district, 90 kilometers to the west of Hyderabad and flows due east for almost all of its course. MUSI : RIVER OF LOVE I t was the river where the love of Muhammad Quli Qutub Shah, before he became the fifth ruler of Golconda, was in love with a local dancer named Bhagmati. She lived in a cot- tage in Chichlam village, located on the southern bank of Musi. As a prince, he travelled across Musi- which linked Golconda and Chichlam, often braving the flood waters to meet his lady love on the other side of the river. Quli Qutub Shah's father couldn't bear his son risking his life while cross- ing the dangerous river to meet his beloved. So, he built a bridge across the river which exists today and is known as Purana Pul (old bridge). There are many new bridges later After his wedding to Bhagmati, Quli Qutub Shah was crowned the emperor. As a gift to his bride, he renamed Chichlam as Bhaganagar. When the fort of Golconda faced severe short- age of water and other resources, the emperor shifted the capital to Bhaganagar. By then Bhagmati had converted to Islam and had got the title as Hyder Mahal. Once again in honour of his wife, the emperor renamed Bhaganagar as Hyderabad, according to history.