While intermittent rains in the Hyderabad and city surroundings have forced several families living around Osman Nagar Lake to shift their houses, the fragile bunds of several other water bodies also pose a grave risk to the people in surrounding areas as the rainy season still has a long way to go before shaking off.
Among such fragile water bodies, Appa Cheruvu on the city outskirts is the one that receives cracks after crack due to incessant rains and could turn into a tragedy like last year when several families living on the banks were washed away after the crammed water body finally developed a breach.
Lack of funds to carry out repair works has led to a poignant situation at Appa Cheruvu at Gagan Pahad under Rajendranagar where recent rains has caused more cracks on the bund besides widening the gap of already existing chasms posing a grave risk to the humans living around the water body again.
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Only last year the brimming Lake bund breached due to incessant rains leaving behind a trial of destruction. Several people living close to the water body were washed away on the unfaithful day of 13th October 2020. The tragedy claimed the lives of five people while bodies of a few are not yet retrieved.
Also, in the month of May this year the pre-monsoon showers left several cracks on the bund and only after the local people sounding the alarm the revenue and irrigation officials made a visit to stock the situation.
Now, due to consecutive rains for the last four days, the bund received more cracks besides widening the gap of already existing chasms. The bund – made up of landfill sans any solid support, holds no lasting durability against intermittent rains as the surface is getting washed away time and again leaving behind ditches and chasms to several meters all along the stretch.
Spread over an area of 40 acres, the Appa Cheruvu Lake stands close to National Highway No.44, an area known as Gagan Pahad. Colonies standing close to the water bodies include Dream India, Dream Avenue, Metro Hills, Phugat Nagar and Gagan Pahad besides hundreds of people living in shades.
“The bund has washed away for the second time during the last three months. Loads of soil and landfill are getting wasted into the lake within a few hours of rains turning the bund completely vulnerable to calamities. The bund should be raised concretely to safeguard the lives of people living around the water body,” said Mohammed Mahboob, a resident living close to Appa Cheruvu.
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When contacted the officials at Irrigation wing informed that “The temporary bund is getting affected time and again as the surface is washing away by the force of rain every time. As an impromptu measure we have taken up temporary works again to repair the bund besides constructing chute drains to help draining out the storm water. We made a proposal before the government for construction of a retaining wall along with stone pitching alongside the bund and the response is awaited.”
