Hyderabad: Hyderabad High Court on Tuesday expressed concern over extinction of nearly 7,000 lakes which Hyderabad once had. A bench comprising of Acting Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice A Shankar Narayana while hearing a public interest petition filed by E. Anjaiah Goud and others questioning the encroachment of Maheshwaram tank in Ranga Reddy district and seeking fixation of full tank level (FTL) of the tank, lamented that before 1950 there were nearly 7000 lakes in Hyderabad but today not even 70 are visible. City’s roads and streets were washed daily with water, but now there is no water to drink. Even today’s busy Mansaheb Tank area in the city was once a tank, it said.
C V Bhaskar Reddy, counsel for Telangana Revenue department, told the bench that state government is working to restore the lakes, following heavy rains in Hyderabad. The court sought a detailed counter from the State on the work it had done so far and posted the case for third week of January.