Hyderabad: Air pollution on rise at Bagh-e-Aam

HYDERABAD: Usually people visit parks to feel relaxed and to breathe in fresh air. Public Garden or Bagh-e-Aam was an oasis in the city, providing an escape from stress and pollution.

But the ambient air quality gradually becoming worse due to vehicular emissions. And whenever the State Legislative Assembly is in session, the number of vehicles increases.

There was a time when the shimmering water of the lake, gentle trills of birds and the verdant expanses used to lift spirits. Today, a dried up lake bed with green patches of algae is a distressing sight.

The Horticulture Department wrote to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) to repair the channel but the latter has not been able to locate the underground channel, it is said.

To revive the 2.5-acre lake, geotextile sheets can be laid to arrest the seepage of rainwater.

Deputy Director of Horticulture Department, Vijay Prasad said, “It is a costly proposition. The government has to take a decision.”