Hyderabad: Sewage pollutes Himayatsagar, Osman Sagar
HYDERABAD: Sewage and industrial effluents are flowing into Himayatsagar and Osman Sagar reservoirs, raising concerns over water contamination.
Officials of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board found that 29 lakh litres of wastewater enter Gandipet reservoir and 43.5 lakh litres flow into Himayatsagar daily. During rains, the inflow increases due to floodwaters carrying additional sewage.
Experts warned that if the situation continues, the reservoirs could turn into another Hussain Sagar.
Sewage lines from several villages in Gandipet, Moinabad, Shamshabad and Shankarpally mandals have been connected to the reservoirs. Wastewater from Aziznagar is also flowing into Himayatsagar.
STPs remain incomplete despite ₹ 82.23 crore allocation
Three years ago, sewage treatment plants (STPs) were taken up at a cost of ₹ 82.23 crore upstream of the twin reservoirs. The works, undertaken by the water board, remain incomplete.
Under the project, STPs with a capacity of 5 million litres per day (MLD) at Himayatnagar in Moinabad municipality, 4 MLD at Janwada, 5 MLD at Nagireddyguda near Himayatsagar and 6 MLD at Kotwaluda are under construction. The works are still in progress.
High court seeks explanation from departments
The Telangana high court on Monday directed the irrigation department, water board and Pollution Control Board to file counters on measures taken to prevent drinking water contamination in Osman Sagar and Himayatsagar.
The court also sought details from the municipal administration department and Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation on steps taken to prevent sewage and industrial waste from nearby colonies entering the reservoirs.
The bench of Chief Justice Apares Kumar Singh and Justice G M Mohiuddin adjourned the hearing to March 26. It warned that failure to file counters within four weeks would attract penalties.
The court treated a letter written on the basis of a newspaper report on pollution in the twin reservoirs as a public interest litigation.
