The crescent-shaped tank located diagonally opposite the National Police Academy in Shivarampally, Hyderabad, now projects a picture of peace. Its waters, once turbulent and uncertain, are now still. A child can wade through its shallow waves without wetting shins. Here and there, rocks rise from the surface, blades of grass gently sway, giving the lake a tranquil, rustic charm. On the other side of its curve there is another crescent – A. Bowli Or spring – filled with water seeping from the mother lake.
Surrounded by the chaos of the city’s uncontrolled expansion, this tranquil pair of ponds had, until a year ago, endured the full wrath of encroachments that threatened to wipe them out.
The water body, Bam Rukan-ud-Daula, has a history dating back to 1770, when Nawab Musa Khan Rukan-ud-Daula, the then Prime Minister of Hyderabad, constructed it during the reign of Nizam Ali Khan (Asaf Jah II). ‘Bam’ means reservoir in Persian, and the purpose of the pond was to provide drinking water. Its sweetness was so famous that the king reserved it for royal use.
A 1922 document, ‘Chronology of the Qutb Shahi Dynasty’, states: “Whenever the Raja of Hyderabad went out of the Dominion, this water (from Bam Rukn-ud-Daula) was sent to the royal camp every day up to Delhi and Shimla”. To maintain its purity, bathing and washing around it was strictly prohibited.
Centuries later, that legacy has been tarnished. A small stream of open sewage now flows from nearby colonies into a pipeline laid through the full tank level of the reservoir, ironically to prevent flow of sewage into the lake. Many nearby buildings, some of which are multi-storey, discharge sewage and lack the necessary permission for construction.
About two years ago, the lake bed was being prepared for another round of illegal construction. More than half the lake was filled with mud and debris, and divided into plots for sale. The encroacher, citing the High Court judgment, claimed ownership of six acres in survey number 42 – a part of which falls in the lake – without specifying the extent.
While the workers were upset and angry, the concerned authorities, with the assistance of local politicians, buried the trucks of mud in the water body, which they thought was better to stay away from.
Concrete structures soon emerged with such urgency that many thought this was the end of the lake – until August 29, 2024.
Barely a month into its formation, amid strong protests from political leaders including MLA Mohammad Mubeen, MLC Mirza Rehmat Baig and their henchmen, the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Property Protection Agency (HYDRA), led by its Commissioner AVRanganath, moved its machinery to the lake bed and razed multi-storey structures.
So far, Hydra forces have penetrated 39 lake beds, cleared 233 acres at full tank level, and earned both praise and criticism for their uncompromising approach. Along with the people, the opposition parties have also termed it as ‘demolition squad’.
turning doubt into action
Doubts grew when Hydra Commissioner AV Ranganath announced that the agency would go ahead with demolition and develop the six lakes it had cleaned, turning them into urban retreats. Citizens and activists were skeptical of the promise, seeing Hydra as a force of destruction rather than renewal. And his suspicions were not unfounded.
Since the formation of the Lake Conservation Committee under the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) in 2010, efforts to rejuvenate the lake have largely failed. As of early 2024, approximately 3,000 water bodies were still awaiting final notification of their boundaries. In 2018, a project to restore 20 lakes under Urban Mission Kakatiya proved futile.
Another initiative led by then Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister KT Rama Rao, which involved private realty firms in developing the lake under corporate social responsibility, also failed amid resistance from the owners. lease Land within the limits of the lake.
In another corner of the city, Nalla Cheruvu in Kukatpally was one of the 20 lakes taken up for beautification in 2018. Little work was done to improve its hydrology, except for a walking track filled with greenery.
Of the six lakes taken up for development, Bathukamma Kunta in Amberpet, Hyderabad has already been restored and relaunched. , Photo Credit: Arrangement
In September last year, barely two months after its formation, Hydra demolished 16 temporary structures and walls from within the lake, and reclaimed 12 acres of encroached land.
Today, the site is buzzing with restoration activities. The walking track built seven years ago is lined with barricades, while the green spaces within it are now used by HYDRAA workers resting between shifts. Four to five excavators move across the bank to shape a new dam to demarcate the sedimentation tank. Work is underway to rebuild the dam using boulders and concrete, while a natural island in the lake has been reshaped and strengthened. A fleet of small cormorants lives close to the dam, and a lone black drongo occasionally swoops over the water.
“We have removed five meters of silt from the tank and transported it to the dump yard. After clearing the sewage-laden debris that had accumulated in the tank over decades, we have built a sewage diversion channel around the lake,” says Yunus Parvez, director of Vimos Technocrats Pvt Ltd, a consultant empaneled with Hydra to carry out the lake restoration works.
A Hydra worker recalls about 9,000 trucks carrying silt at the rate of 300 trucks per day. Some of the material excavated has been used to build interior walkways and strengthen the island, where workers are using boulders to shape an H-shaped sculpture, perhaps to depict Hydra or Hyderabad.
To restore the natural flow of the lake, seven to eight inlets are being built, each with silt traps installed to filter runoff from the surrounding areas. Sedimentation tanks are designed to capture silt and sewage, allowing only clean water to seep into the main part of the tank. The outlet, about 15 feet wide, has now been sealed with heaps of sand to facilitate the ongoing works.
“There is only fresh water in the lake now. We have increased the capacity of the lake five times. After our restoration works, there is evidence of borewells in the surrounding areas being recharged,” says Parvez, who has been entrusted with the responsibility of all the six lake restoration works by Hydra.
Leaping weir technology has been used in the entrances of both Bam Rukn-ud-Daula and Nalla Cheruvu to divert ‘dry season flow’ – essentially sewage – during non-monsoon periods. This system works by taking advantage of the difference in hydraulic behavior between sewage trickles and stormwater flow.
Parvez explains, “At Bam Rukn, the outline of the lake was completely destroyed. We have created inlets and are in the process of laying catchment drains. Our aim is to divert flood water from Aramghar Junction along with flows from Shastripuram, Raghavendra Colony and Rasheed Colony into the lake.”
Revival through science and strategy
Ranganath explains that the agency’s approach is fundamentally different from previous restoration efforts. He said de-silting, which is important for groundwater recharge, was not done earlier. “At Thamidikunta lake, we cleared a lot of biomedical waste, and at Nalla Cheruvu in Uppal, we removed industrial waste. If the silt is not removed, it hardens and blocks water seepage.”
Hydra’s model focuses on restoring the integrity of the lakes by re-integrating them into the city’s flood control system and reviving their groundwater recharge capabilities. Instead of being confined to government land only, the lake extends to its entire area, says Ranganath.
to bring on private board lease To landholders, who have historically been a major hurdle, Hydra is promising Transferable Development Rights (TDR).
Sedimentation tanks are a new facility in most of the lakes except Bathukamma Kunta and Bam Rukn-ud-Daula. For example, the Nalla Cheruvu in Uppal has a three-tier sedimentation system to filter pollutants before the water enters the main tank.
Still, the Restoration story has its downside. Of the original 17.5 acres of land owned by Bam Rukn-ud-Daula, Hydra has so far been able to acquire only 11 to 13 acres. The rest is occupied by residential buildings, apartment complexes and a mosque, apart from a large sewerage line laid by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board, which still runs through the lake area.
The latest additions to Hydra include a walking track inside the FTL area and a few separate pockets earmarked for amenities like parks and recreation areas. After the renovation, the capacity of the lake is said to have increased from 8 million liters to 108 million litres. However, in its original expansion, the tank can hold much greater capacity.
At Nalla Cheruvu in Kukatpally, historical satellite images show that the previous footpath has encroached into the FTL of the lake, and the latest one has further reduced its perimeter. The dam separating the sedimentation tank and the island fortification also limits natural water circulation. Environmentalists warn that during heavy rains, sedimentation tanks may prove ineffective as running water can still carry silt and sewage directly into the lake.
Ranganath defends the walkways, calling them ‘peripheral dams’ designed to prevent flooding in nearby colonies during heavy rains.
Call for transparency, accountability
But not everyone is convinced. Lake activist and Congress leader Lubna Sarwath calls Hydra’s lake development efforts not ‘beautification’ but ‘dirt’. She blames selective demolitions that spare religious structures, accuses the agency of filling lake areas under the guise of building walking tracks and opposes the construction of gazebos and other recreational facilities in the FTL and buffer zones.
“Who gave Hydra the right to ‘beautify’ the lakes? Their role is only to protect them from encroachment, after which they should hand them over to the irrigation department,” says Sarvath.
“Hydra, as an agency representing the state government, has no presence on the online portal of the Telangana government. It is acting like a private army,” he alleged. He further said that his applications under the Right to Information Act, 2005, have been rejected by Hydra chief Ranganath.
In one such RTI query, Sarwath had sought information related to Bam Rukn-ud-Daula, including detailed project report, action plan for restoration, details of the agency doing the work, copy of the tender document finalizing the agency and names of departments involved. Other questions sought information about Hydra’s online presence, its organizational details and the broad scope of its lake restoration activities.
However, Ranganath insists that the process is transparent. He clarified that tenders have been issued on the government’s e-procurement platform and agencies have been selected through due process. He says the ₹56-58 crore project is funded by HMDA, with a detailed project report prepared in consultation with departments including irrigation.
Of the six lakes taken up for development, Bathukamma Kunta in Amberpet has already been restored and relaunched. Work is in progress at Thamidikunta in Madhapur, Nalla Cheruvu in Uppal, Bam Rukn-ud-Daula and Nalla Cheruvu in Kukatpally, while the project at Sunnam Cheruvu in Guttala Begumpet has been delayed following objections raised by Sarvath in the absence of final notification.
Ranganath is optimistic that the three lakes – Thamidikunta, Nalla Cheruvu (Kukatpalli) and Bam Rukan-ud-Daula – will be opened after restoration next month, followed by Sunnam Cheruvu in January.
