Mir Alam Lake, a historic water body built in 1806, is now heavily polluted despite the construction of a sewage diversion canal around it in 2019. The canal was built for Rs.7 crore under Mission Kakatiya to redirect sewage from nearby colonies into Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) within the lake for proper treatment. However, the canal has failed to serve its purpose as filth from nearby colonies continues to flow into the lake, with STPs appearing to be dysfunctional.
The Mir Alam Lake is spread over an area of 465 acres and has a catchment area of 5.90 sq.km. Officials from Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) have visited the water body in the past, but the issue of sewage inflow persists. GHMC claims to have built a comprehensive sewage canal around the lake, but nearby residents continue to complain about the messy state of affairs around the water body.
Some pipelines were grounded in the Hasan Nagar area to redirect sewage, but they were not connected correctly to the STPs within the lake. Faulty measures in setting up pipelines have compounded the problem, with old pipelines passing too deep and new ones laid too high. The lack of efficacious measures to ensure the beautification of the lake and the persistent issue of sewage inflow into the water body has resulted in the 217-year-old Mir Alam Lake turning into a pond of filth, much to the dismay of locals.
According to Mohd Iqbal, a resident of Hassan Nagar, “In the name of building a diversion canal some pipelines were grounded in Hasan Nagar side to redirect the sewage, however, the same was not connected properly to STPs existing in the water body. More so, faulty measures in setting pipelines too played a spoil spot as the old lines are passing quite deep while the new lines were laid quite upward only to make the issue more complex.”
