HYDERABAD: In spite of copious rain in Ranga Reddy and Medak districts, particularly in their catchment area, the two drinking water sources — Osmansagar and Himayat-sagar — haven’t filled up.
Environmentalists said encroachments and illegal constructions in the catchment area, violating GO 111 and blocking nalas and pathways, had decreased inflows.
According to the Water Board, Osmansagar had 2.06 tmc ft water against its 3.9 tmc ft capacity on Friday; in Himayatsagar had water storage of 0.7 tmc ft out of 2.9 tmc ft capacity.
While realtors, politicians and violators, along with officials, are trying to undermine the importance of the twin reservoirs and working legally and politically to cancel or amend GO 111, activists are skeptical about the Save Gandipet project being taken up under Mission Kakatiya. The authorities failed to act on the officially declared 108 encroachments in FTL of Gandipet.
SOUL convener Lubna Sarawat said: “We have sought the project report under RTI but they are refusing to divulge the details. We have been demanding that the government fence the 10-km buffer zone instead of fencing the FTL at Osmansagar, otherwise illegal encroachments would come up on large scale.”
She said Gandipet was adopted by Cyberabad police commissioner under Mission Kakatiya and approximately Rs 26 crore was sanctioned for fencing the lake and a walking track. All blockages on inflow channels must be opened and encroachments on inflow channels removed so that Gandipet survives.”
According to earlier studies, there has been a decline in water supply over the years in Osmansagar and Himayatsagar due to redu-ced inflows. Osmansagar and Himayatsagar first dried up in 2003. Osmansagar has a 56-km perimeter and fencing will cost Rs 26 crore, and cycling track and amenities would cost '9 crore.
Water Board director (operations) G. Rameshwar Rao said: "The two reservoirs fill up once in five years. These were built as flood protection reservoirs. They filled up in 2010. Singur and Manjeera were filled up due to rain in catchment areas. Though there are some encroachments, we can’t attribute the reservoirs not filling up to them.”
