ADILABAD: The Dharmasagar lake in Nirmal is fast shrinking due to encroachment by land grabbers. The lakebed is being encroached and buildings are being constructed by land sharks, in connivance with leaders of political parties.
Following a petition by a social activist on the encroachment of the lake, district collector M. Jagan Mohan ordered an inquiry into it.
In 1990s, people of the town used to swim in the lake but with the land prices increasing in the last few years, it has fallen prey to encroachers. The location of the lake in a prime area, beside old NH-7 and RTC bus station, is has increased the encroachments.
On September 15, social activist and senior citizen M.A Kareem, 63, of Adilabad town, submitted a petition to collector M. Jagan Mohan seeking his intervention to take steps to check encroachment of the lakebed.
M.A Kareem recalled: “I used to go to Dharmasagar for swimming when I used to study there in the primary school. The land grabbers, with the support of influential people, are encroaching the lake and officials are remaining mute spectators.” He wondered how the officials could issue pattas to the land submerged under water. He questioned how the revenue officials issued patta to the land which was in the water.
In the past, a mini tank bund was developed beside the lake to transform it into a tourist spot.
Nirmal tahsildar B. Prabhakar issued pahani certificate for the Dharmasagar lake on September 2, 2014 stating that the water body was spread in 65 acres in survey number 2033.
But now, a large part of the lake has been encroached and the details mentioned in the pahani might prove to be false.
Officials of Nirmal municipality have been issuing pattas relating to the encraoched land located in the Dharmasgar lake and the irrigation, revenue departments have been failing to check the onslaught of encroachers.
There are a number of tanks in Nirmal division and paddy cultivation is high under the limits of the tanks.
However, gradually, all the water bodies fell prey to land encroachers.
In 1956, NH-7 was laid through the lake dividing it into two unequal parts. The smaller part of the lake had been encroached long back. Now, land sharks are focusing on the bigger part of the lake.
