Hyderabad: The Mir Alam Tank is shrinking by the day because of dumping of debris and garbage, as a result of which the authorities of the Nehru Zoological Park are facing several problems.
The Mir Alam tank which was once 800 acres has halved in size.
Ms Lubna Sarwath, a member Save Our Urban Lakes (SOUL), said, “The tank has shrunk due to the laying of roads within the full tank level area. Its maximum width area has decreased due to encroachments on the Idgah side. As a result of the reduction in storage capacity, water is gushing out through the vent in the bund abutting the zoological park.”
Ms Sarwath says that the Mir Alam basin once had several smaller tanks.
“All the tanks have been encroached upon by the land mafia, and their water has been channelised to the Mir Alam tank,” she said.
Once the tank is full, the single vent in the bund is the only outlet for the water.
“There was another small discharge outlet on the Idgah side, but it was eventually closed. Now, colonies have come up all around the tank, except on the north side, where the zoo is located,” she added.
She said a lot of silt and garbage had accumulated in the lake bed. Apart from conducting surveys, the officials had not done much.
