DESARAJU SURYA
Hyderabad: The historic Hussain Sagar Lake is rotting further because of the sheer apathy of the state government. Nauseating odour apart, widespread sprouting of water hyacinth has left the lake in an utterly sorry state. Constant growth of water hyacinth in the entire lake is leaving an apologetic picture.
The hyacinth menace could become a regular feature as there is no immediate way to prevent discharge of sewerage into Hussain Sagar, it is feared. Had the state government taken up the Hussain Sagar Lake and Catchment Area Improvement Project as planned in February 2006, things would have been a lot better. The Rs 316 crore project, proposed to be taken up with financial assistance from the Japan Bank for International Co-operation (JBIC), envisages improving the drainage in the lake's catchment area, setting up additional water treatment plants and establishing eco-tourism projects on the banks. Of the total project cost, Rs 270 crore is the JBIC loan component.
"Procedural delays" held up the project for more than two years and works may not start at least for two more months as the HUDA and JBIC are in the process of finalising tenders for construction of a 30 million litres per day (mld) sewerage treatment plant (STP) with tertiary treatment at Picket Nala and another five mld STP at Rangadhamini Cheruvu (IDL lake) at Kukatpally. Upgrading the existing 20 mld STP at Balkapur Nala on the Necklace Road is also being taken up and work on this is expected to start only in August after JBIC clears the tenders, Huda sources said.
These, of course, are only a part of the entire project and the duration for completion of the project as per the original plan is December 2012. Since the project commencement got delayed by over two years, the completion too may get delayed further. A top HUDA official, involved with the project, admitted that "nothing but procedural delays" caused the inordinate delay in launching the project. "Given its cumbersome procedures in approving the project and the financial assistance, the JBIC has also contributed to the delay. Since we had to toe their line for securing funds, we could not really push things," the official pointed out. However, authoritative sources said the project was handled by wrong hands since the beginning. "This is a highly technical project and requires experts to handle it. But it was handled in the most casual administrative manner," the sources observed.
The hapless citizens of the state capital are bearing the brunt of official callousness.
The hyacinth menace could become a regular feature as there is no immediate way to prevent discharge of sewerage into Hussain Sagar, it is feared. Had the state government taken up the Hussain Sagar Lake and Catchment Area Improvement Project as planned in February 2006, things would have been a lot better. The Rs 316 crore project, proposed to be taken up with financial assistance from the Japan Bank for International Co-operation (JBIC), envisages improving the drainage in the lake's catchment area, setting up additional water treatment plants and establishing eco-tourism projects on the banks. Of the total project cost, Rs 270 crore is the JBIC loan component.
"Procedural delays" held up the project for more than two years and works may not start at least for two more months as the HUDA and JBIC are in the process of finalising tenders for construction of a 30 million litres per day (mld) sewerage treatment plant (STP) with tertiary treatment at Picket Nala and another five mld STP at Rangadhamini Cheruvu (IDL lake) at Kukatpally. Upgrading the existing 20 mld STP at Balkapur Nala on the Necklace Road is also being taken up and work on this is expected to start only in August after JBIC clears the tenders, Huda sources said.
These, of course, are only a part of the entire project and the duration for completion of the project as per the original plan is December 2012. Since the project commencement got delayed by over two years, the completion too may get delayed further. A top HUDA official, involved with the project, admitted that "nothing but procedural delays" caused the inordinate delay in launching the project. "Given its cumbersome procedures in approving the project and the financial assistance, the JBIC has also contributed to the delay. Since we had to toe their line for securing funds, we could not really push things," the official pointed out. However, authoritative sources said the project was handled by wrong hands since the beginning. "This is a highly technical project and requires experts to handle it. But it was handled in the most casual administrative manner," the sources observed.
The hapless citizens of the state capital are bearing the brunt of official callousness.
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