Watch: Illegal encroachments on Musi river banks near Attapur

Hyderabad: The Musi river flowing near the Attapur and Karwan areas of Hyderabad is facing encroachment while the pollution of rivers and lakes in the city has been a serious issue.

Environmentalists have voiced concerns about water bodies drying up or becoming non-existent, citing encroachment as the primary cause.

The video reveals that the banks of the Musi river are being piled up with sand and stones after the water had dried up.

Though the state government has cleared multiple land grabbers after recent floods, efforts are being made to limit the flow of the river by covering its banks and clearing the river bank off the public vision.

However, these encroachments might cost citizens numerous issues if floods hit the city in the future.

In July 2022, several homes built on the downstream riverbed were flooded affecting thousands of people.

Activists have claimed that the gates of both Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar lakes are lifted more frequently due to encroachment in the catchment areas while these lakes are supposed to protect the city from Musi river flooding.

They further stated that large-scale encroachments of the lakes began years ago.

The Musi River flows into Himayat Sagar and Osman Sagar, which are artificial lakes that act as reservoirs that once supplied the twin cities of Hyderabad.

The Musi river was the cause of frequent flood devastation in Hyderabad until the early decades of the 20th century.

Hyderabad saw floods in October 2020 which revealed several encroachments on multiple lands at the banks of rivers, lakes and dry brooks.

Due to indiscriminate urbanization and lack of planning, the river had earlier become a receptacle of untreated domestic and industrial waste dumping out of Hyderabad.

It was estimated that nearly 350 MLD (minimal liquid discharge) of polluted water and sewage originating from Hyderabad and Secunderabad flow into the Musi river.

According to the latest report of the Pollution Control Board, 30 of the city’s 185 lakes were reported to have gone dry in August 2022, with two lakes identified as encroached and the other two as non-existent.