2017
21
GRIM SIDE OF TELANGANA
Hussainsagar Lake- synonymous with Hyderabad
Hussain Sagar was built across a tributary of the river Musi
river in 1563 by Ibrahim Quli Qutub Shah. The lake was
named after Hazrat Hussain Shah Wali, who helped to
design it. It is an artificial lake that holds water perenni-
ally fed by canals from Musi river. Hussain Sagar was the
main source of water supply to Hyderabad before Himayat
Sagar and Osman Sagar were built on river Musi.
'Heart Of The World' Recognition by UNWTO.
Hussain Sagar, a heritage site of India was declared as the
'Heart of the World' by UNWTO on 27 September 2012,
on the occasion of World Tourism Day, for being the
World's Largest Heart Shaped Mark. World's Largest Heart
Shaped Mark: Hussain sagar lake is the largest heart shaped
mark among the marks formed by 78 heart shaped lakes
and 9 heart shaped islands on the face of the earth.
This lake has many outstanding universal values of love
around it in addition to its heart shape, the symbol of love,
which explore the wonder of love in the world. King built
the lake for his people's drinking & irrigation purpose out
of his love towards his people.
King Ibrahim named the lake after Hazrath Hussain
Shawali (Sufi saint, medical practitioner and architect of
the lake) as sign of gratitude for Hussain's treatment that
was given to the king during his sickness and made him
recover from the sickness. Many historical monuments
were placed on the bank.
The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority
(HMDA) may have spent close to Rs 370 crore to clean
the iconic Hussainsagar, but it has failed to improve the
health of the dying lake. Locals complain that the stench
from the water body is making it difficult for people to
commute along the Tank Bund, visit the NTR Garden or
venture anywhere close to Necklace Road.
Onset of summer has added to the woes of people with
the smell becoming more pronounced. "While the smell
is usually the worst during May , this time the problem
has started early due to abnormally high temperatures,"
said an expert.
Hussain Sagar lake that spans 141
hectares with a depth of over 500 metres
is named after Hazrath Hussain Shawali
(Sufi saint, medical practitioner and ar-
chitect of the lake)
78 million litres of sewage and 15
million litres of industrial effluents
flow into the lake through four drains
Another reason for the sharp stink is increase in Bio-
logical Oxygen Demand (BOD) in the water, experts
said. While oxygen levels should be between 6 and 7
mg per litre of water, BOD should ideally be less than
3mg. In the case of the Hussain sagar, the variation is
more than 50% on both counts.
If that's not all, the fact that Sewage Treatment Plants
run by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and
Sewerage Board have not been able to treat industrial
waste flowing into the lake from nalas is another seri-
ous cause for concern, environmentalists say .
Every day, 78 million litres of sewage and 15 million
litres of industrial effluents flow into the lake through
four drains, as per Pollution Control Board The two
sewage treatment plants (STPs) near the lake are insuf-
ficient to handle the wastewater load, say some activ-
ists. Emptying a lake that spans 141 hectares with a depth
of over 500 metres is a humongous task. Recently the
authority has fixed some fountains to beautify the lake,
but the cleaning efforts have come to stand still.
While the intention of state authorities to clean the his-
toric lake is commendable, it is important that they get
to the root of the problem and not settle for some tem-
porary, cosmetic make over. Considering the significance
of Hussainsagar Lake -which is almost synonymous with
Hyderabad's identity -it is important that we do all we
can to preserve whatever is left of it and ensure that it
doesn't die a brutal death.