Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) on Saturday, October 24, launched a large-scale operation against illegal borewells around Sunnam Cheruvu in Madhapur, targeting what it describes as a water racket that has run for decades.
According to HYDRAA, the special drive was carried out jointly with the Cyberabad Municipal Corporation (CMC), the Revenue Department, the police and other departments. Officials moved in under police security and removed pipes running from borewells dug inside houses near the lake.
HYDRAA said the borewells were being used to draw water illegally and sell it commercially, and that the operation was meant to rein in those running the business. In a video released by the agency, officials are seen pulling out the pipes in the presence of revenue and CMC staff.
The agency also flagged a health risk. It said the pipes had been laid through sewage and garbage, and that even a small crack could contaminate the water passing through them.
The lake has been linked to this trade before. In June last year, Madhapur police arrested a man, Venkatesh, for allegedly running a water tanker syndicate on borewells dug inside the lake’s Full Tank Level (FTL) area. The water was supplied to hostels and apartments nearby. Police claimed it contained metals such as cadmium and nickel.
The crackdown comes a day after HYDRAA Commissioner AV Ranganath and CMC Commissioner G Srijana inspected the restored lake on Friday, October 23. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy is set to inaugurate it at the end of this month or in early November.
The commissioners reviewed work covering about 20 acres of FTL area, along with the bund, walking tracks, fencing, parks, open gyms and boating jetties. HYDRAA Additional Commissioner Anand and Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Thirumal were among the officials present.
The restoration has also drawn objections. Residents of SIET Maruthi Hills Colony in Guttala Begumpet opposed HYDRAA’s works near the lake, citing a pending High Court case and a status quo order on the land. HYDRAA said the lake had been reduced to a drain by encroachments and was being restored.
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Source: The Siasat Daily
