A fortnight ago on Friday morning, when K Mallesh arrived at the lake where he has been cultivating fish for the past 29 years, the 63-year-old was horrified to see that its waters had turned pitch black and hundreds of fish were on the shore. Was washed away Throughout the week, as it rained incessantly, sightings of dead fish swimming—some of which weighed between six and eight kilograms—became common.
Regulkunta Cheruvu (Lake) in Diptishree Nagar of Miyapur, spread over 17 acres, is surrounded by vast expanses of green and rocky terrain. On closer look it is anything but quiet. The road adjacent to the lake is always littered with garbage, plastic waste and construction debris.
In June itself, Mallesh released 3.5 lakh fingers of rohu, katla, apollo fish, grass carp and bangaru thega (a goldfish) into the lake. Regulkunta is one of the three lakes that he leases from the government for fish farming. While he releases the fingers once every three months, catching them for sale at the local market is a year-round activity.
The road adjacent to the lake is always littered with garbage, plastic waste and construction debris.
(Express)
“I had invested around Rs 10 lakh in June and now the lake appears to be dead. Nothing to do anymore. Unless the lake is emptied and cleaned, I don’t think aquaculture is possible here,” he said, pointing to the color of the water. A member of the Fishermen’s Co-operative Society, Mallesh procures his fish majorly from parts of Andhra Pradesh and also receives some from the Telangana government at subsidized rates. “This is the first time such a tragedy has happened,” he said.
Parashuram, a washerman on the lake for the past 15 years, agrees with Mallesh that the lake is dead. “In the last few years, its water has turned black during monsoon but not to this extent. A walk around the lake will reveal how and where it is getting contaminated,” he said, pointing to a stream of dark liquid flowing from above.
Throughout the week, as it rained incessantly, sightings of dead fish swimming—some of which weighed between six and eight kilograms—became common.
(Express)
Neighborhood residents are also sure when they blame the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation’s (GHMC) waste segregation and transfer station located in the upper catchment areas for the alleged contamination of the lake, resulting in mass deaths of fish.
Subramanian, whose apartment overlooks the lake, says the garbage station has been operational for almost 10 years. “Every two minutes, one can see a speeding truck or trolley passing by the lake. The frequency of vehicles has increased of late and since there is a lot of open land available, many people throw the garbage on the side of the road instead of waiting for their turn in the yard,” he said, adding that the stench has been unbearable.
GHMC official buck pass
However, the corporation has given itself a clean chit calling this theory a baseless allegation. It has entrusted the responsibility of ascertaining the cause of death of the fish to other stakeholders such as Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA), Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB), Irrigation Department and Fisheries Department.
Officials from the Veterinary Wing and Public Health and Sanitation Wing of GHMC, as well as officials from the Irrigation Department, HMWSSB and Fisheries Department visited the site. The fish carcasses as well as water samples were sent to the laboratory for testing. Pointing to the dumpster being more than a kilometer away from the lake, a GHMC official rubbished the allegations of the residents as baseless. “It is possible that heavy rains may have created an imbalance in the pH composition of the lake water and made it highly alkaline. We are awaiting the test results before conclusively indicating the cause of death,” he said on condition of anonymity.
Neighborhood residents are also sure when they blame the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation’s (GHMC) waste segregation and transfer station located in the upper catchment areas for the alleged contamination of the lake, resulting in mass deaths of fish.
Admitting that it was a public health issue, another official, requesting anonymity, said that “the transfer station is maintained by Ramki (private contractor) under the supervision of GHMC. The lake comes under HMDA land and is looked after by the Irrigation Department. Fish farming in the lake is promoted by the Department of Fisheries, and the water quality is to be ensured by HMWSSB. We, on our part, have shared our concerns with the stakeholder departments.” There was no response when tried.
‘Disaster in Waiting, Unless Scientifically Addressed’
Save Our Urban Lakes (SOUL) convener Gurram Balaswamy said that since the lake is a source of recharging groundwater in the neighbourhood, it has posed a major threat to public health in the form of contamination of wells and borewells. “The water of the lake is poisonous. It is not just the fish, but the whole ecosystem gets destroyed. If it is not addressed scientifically, it is a disaster waiting for the people.”
Y Sitaramaiah, president of the Diptishree Nagar Residents Welfare Association, said that the association has been demanding for shifting the yard for a long time, but their complaints have fallen on deaf ears. Emphasizing that around 300 big and small trucks and trolleys make several daily trips to the yard, Association treasurer D Mangapati said that it is the responsibility of the corporation to ensure that no garbage is dumped outside the yard.
“The dump yard is a major concern, but we are also asking the nearby Aminpur municipality to divert the sewage. Apart from that area, the lake has become a cesspool with sewage flow from PJR Complex, Diptishree Nagar and MA Nagar. In our colony, the work of laying the pipeline to divert sewage got stalled midway and was not resumed,” reveals Sitaramayya.
According to environmental expert BV Subba Rao, the dead fish floating in the lake are a reminder of the lack of coordination between various departments. “The design and location of the dump yard or transfer site is a problem here as it is located in the upper catchment areas of the lake. Still, it is the GHMC’s responsibility to ensure that the site does not contaminate the lakes downstream,” he explained, adding, “The lake is gasping for breath and it is now or never.”