Hyderabad: A Telangana state government delegation comprising public representatives, officials, and journalists, on Monday, October 21, inspected South Korea‘s Cheonggyecheon Stream Restoration Project, in South Korea’s capital Seoul, as part of their visit to study the challenges and benefits of river restoration in a bustling city.
The delegation was guided by the city’s local officials, who explained how the Cheonggyecheon River, which flows across Seoul, stretching 13.7 kilometres, eventually got polluted in the early 20th Century. The city’s rapid development led to the South Korean government developing a sewage system to retrieve the dying river with bridges built across the river, and the capital’s lifeline was cleaned thoroughly.
Telangana housing minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, who led the delegation, stated that just as how the Cheonggyecheon River was cleaned and transformed into a tourist attraction in Seoul, the Musi River would also be developed similarly.
The Telangana chief minister Revanth Reddy visited the city’s Cheonggyecheon River restoration project during his visit to South Korea earlier in August 2024, which he found insightful.
Transport minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar, principal secretary of the municipal administration department Dana Kishore, commissioner of information and public relations HM Rao, member of parliament C Kiran Kumar Reddy, MLAs Prakash Goud, Kale Yadayya, Malla Reddy Rangareddy, GHMC mayor Vijayalakshmi, deputy mayor Srilatha and senior journalists from various media houses in the state are a part of this delegation.
The delegation, which reached Seoul on October 20, is expected to return to India on October 25, bringing back valuable insights on how the Musi River restoration project can be carried out to ensure its success.
Months after CM’s visit to Seoul River, Musi Restoration plan underway
The flagship mega-project of the Revanth Reddy-led Congress government, the Musi River restoration project is in full swing with the government laying out a plan for the project and evicting the residents of the receding Musi riverbed.
Most of the evictees were rehabilitated to 2BHK flats made by the state government, while many have obtained stay orders from courts, with the river project looming a threat of loss of property for many.
While the government had said nobody would become homeless due to the river restoration project, many citizens’ lives have taken a drastic turn with many having their normal lives changed in a matter of weeks, with them being displaced, and many finding their livelihood again from the relocated locations.
Meanwhile, to ensure the multi-crore project’s success, the government is exploring additional financial assistance from global agencies including the World Bank. The project is expected to enhance the infrastructure along the Musi River, linking environmental sustainability with urban development.
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