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Urban Lakes in Hyderabad Reasons and Measures to Save Kapra Lake from Dissipation

Dr.KavitaToran


Head, Department of Geoinformatics, Telangana University, Bhiknoor, Nizambad-503101


A lake is an area of variable size filled with water, localized in a watershed that is surrounded by land, stream or any other outlet to feed or drain the lake waters [1]. Lakes exist on land, larger and deeper than ponds and are distinct from lagoons [2]. Though, most of the lakes are fed and drained by streams, they are distinct from rivers /streams which have flowing waters. Natural lakes are generally found in glacial terrain, lowlands of hilly terrain, as oxbow lakes along the paleo-courses of rivers and so on. All lakes are temporary over geologic time scales, as they will slowly fill in with sediments or spill out of the basin containing them.


Hyderabad is the capital city of Telangana and is located along the banks of the river Musi. The city with a spread over of 650 sq.km has a population of more than 6.9 million (GHMC, 2016). At an average altitude of 542 metres (1,778 ft), much of Hyderabad is situated on Deccan terrain of rocky and undulating landscape, dotted with many lakes of small and big size. The most popular is lake Hussain Sagar located in the middle of city. It is built by Ibrahim Quli Qutub Shah in the year 1563 over an area of 5.7 sq. km. The lake is part of Musi river catchment and was the source of water supply to Hyderabad, before Himayat Sagar and Osman Sagar were built on upstream of river Musi. It also separates Hyderabad from its twin city Secunderabad. Few other important lakes in Hyderabad are Mir Alam lake (named after Mir Alam Bahadur) in south, built in 1806 during the reign of third of Nizam of Hyderabad; Shamirpet lake (Nizam reign), in north, and Saroornagar lake (1626) in east, to mention few important lakes in the city.


Kapra Lake, Sainikpuri, Kapra Municipality,


Kapra lake or Oora Cheruvu is located in the Kapra municipality, near Sainikpuri, in the north-east part of Hyderabad city. (Fig 1). The length of its bund as observed is around 1254 m.





Fig 1 Satellite view of Kapra lake and its surroundings.(Google Image, 2017)

A one time deemed pristine and pollution free but it is now marked as polluted[2] and susceptible to encroachment and dumping of waste.


The lake has two feeder channels and two sluice gates. The lake being part of a chain of water bodies, wherein, the surplus course of water from water body in upstream flows down into the lower water body. It is said, a decade ago the lake was the main source of fresh water to the residents residing in Sainikpuri (Anonymous).

Table 1 Attributes of Kapra Lake

Surface Area


113 Acres (Presently 70 Acres)

Average Depth


547.87 m

Maximum. Depth


551.61 m

Surface Elevation


536 m

(Source: GHMC, 2016)


A one time deemed pristine and pollution free but it is now marked as polluted[2] and susceptible to encroachment and dumping of waste. As the details in Table -1 the area of the lake which was 113 acres (46 ha) is reduced to 70 acres (28 ha), largely due to construction and dumping of waste.[3] A part of the Kapra Lake stands encroached for the past few years[4]


Reasons for Kapra Lake Dissipation


Many freshwater lakes, streams and ponds are polluted. The causes of pollution could be many. One major cause is due to construction of houses and industrial sheds close to lakes and ponds. The untreated water is let out by homes and industries directly into lakes. The contaminated water, thus gets mixed with the fresh water and damages the aquatic system and make water unfit for drinking . Reasons for dissipation are discussed below.

· Rapid Urbanization


Rapid and unplanned urbanisation block the feeder channels of lakes, which eventually lead to drying of lake beds. The dry exposed lake bed land became lucrative for un-authorised construction. Several residential and commercial establishments get sprouted on such lands and the sewage from them find their way into whatever left over part of lakes. Intermittent regularization drives by local government eventually these buildings gets a legal tag. It has been seen, migration of villagers to cities in search of economic opportunities and jobs, settle down close to lakes due to availability of free land and source of water. People living in such slums around the lakes use water for washing clothes, cattle and bathing. Lakes are a single source of drinking water for domestic animals. Contaminating of lake waters affect the health and hygiene of local population.


· Encroachmentand Un-Authorised Construction


Encroachment and un-authorised construction is big menace for all lakes. Over a period of time, many un-authorised houses have also been noticed to have been constructed in the lake bed, turning it into a polluted water body. One has to digress as to how right decisions are avoided in municipalities from preventing such developments in lake beds. Death of many such beautiful urban lakes is often due to negligence by human decision making. In early 2014, a network of activists called ‘Save Our Urban Lakes’ (SOUL) filed a ‘Public Interest Litigation’ (PIL) petition in the High Court against the constructions within the ‘Full Tank Level’ (FTL) of Kapra lake and alleged the complicity of State officials. A status report filed by the Telangana government reveal, rampant encroachment in lake beds located in Hyderabad and adjoining Ranga Reddy districts. The report identified twenty five encroachments within the FTL of Kapra lake, including a temple, badminton courts and concrete houses, but does not mention a tennis academy that is named in the petition.


· Improper Waste Disposal


Garbage is regularly disposed into the lake. Plastic bags and industrial waste from butcher shops litter the lake front. At times, people perform religious puja and death rituals right here. The stink becomes unbearable sometimes and mosquitoes have become a menace due to presence dirty waters. The lake surface is covered with floating weeds and plastic material. Garbage heaps can be seen all over the banks, once clean where, children use to play and families sit to relax. New apartments and houses around the lake dump the untreated sewage directly into the lake and people from nearby market also dump vegetable waste and plastic, choking the lake for ever.


Measures to save Kapra lake from Dissipation;


As Kapra lake is a landmark water body in Kapra municipality and a very important source of ground water recharge, potential recreation spot and an open urban space it is imperative to protect and save the lake from slow extinction .A few measures are hereby suggested to conserve and preserve Kapra lake.


· Declare the lake and its lake front a 'No Development Zone'.

· Build,‘Sewage Treatment Plant’(STP) to release treated water into the lake.

· Desilt the two feeder channels and outflow channels in order to maintain a clear depth and width for uninterrupted water flow.


· Strengthen sluice gates for ease of operation of water flow during monsoon in flows into the lake

· As a measure of protection, Construct fence around lake to avoid dumping of garbage and litter into the lake.

· Restoration efforts like building bunds to increase storage capacity of lake

· Cleaning of water to increase aquatic biodiversity of lake, improve water quality and rejuvenation of lake ecology

· Local residents should volunteer to adopt and maintain the lake to prevent encroachment

· Develop the lake front as an important spot for recreation, plant trees to increase the greenery, place for 'walkers and joggers' etc

· Sensitize residents, conduct awareness programs about the importance of clean environment, health and hygiene

· Enforce strict measures to prevent encroachments and destruction of lake & lake front; dumping of waste ; discharge of untreated water etc

· Apply Geospatial technology to expedite cadastral survey of (lake) lands, digitisation of land records, fix, 'FTL boundary, delineate catchment areas of upstream and down stream of lakes, conduct hydrological studies to understand ground water recharge , water quality and water flows etc

· Develop a strong ‘Decision Support System’(DSS) to develop, monitor and manage Kapra lake as ,'People Friendly Lake'.

· Private players to contribute to save the lake under,‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ (CSR) voluntary scheme.


Conclusion


Water is an important natural resource. It is very essential for survival of all humanity, flora and fauna. It is also important from the perspective of environment, livelihood , health and hygiene.


Thus, conservation and protection of all water bodies such as lakes, ponds, streams etc is essential. Hyderabad is well known as, 'City of Lakes'. Along with many lakes ,the Kapra lake is also one of the important lakes in Sainikpuri, Kapra municipality, Hyderabad. The same lake which once provided a source of clean drinking water to the residents of Sainikpuri and adjoining localities is now lying under the shadow of extinction. The efforts by GHMC, Kapra (local) municipality to protect the lake has to increase further to save the lake. They may even engage private players to contribute to save the lake under,‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ (CSR) voluntary scheme.


Finally, local residents too, have to own responsibility to initiate awareness campaigns, sensitize people on benefits of presence of lakes, discourage dumping of garbage into the lake, develop composite pits, carry tree plantation on lake front and so save Kapra lake in particular, and in general all lakes in city of Hyderabad.


References


AdamsD,(1994),Urban Planning and The Development Process, Routledge Publishers

Aijaz,R.(2010),Water for Indian Cities : Government Practices & Policy Concerns , ORF Issue

David Clark (1982),Urban Geography-An Introductory Guide,Croom Helm Series

Meera Kosambi,(1994),Urbanization and Urban Development in India, Monograph Published by Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), New Delhi

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