Responding to a complaint by legislator Malreddy Ranga Reddy in the Telangana Legislative Assembly, the Hyderabad Disaster Response & Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) has initiated the removal of an illegally laid 60-foot road inside the Masab Lake, spread across 700 acres, at Turkayamjal village in Hayatnagar mandal of Rangareddy district, on Thursday.
A statement from the enforcement authority informed that efforts have begun for the removal of this 60-foot road which eats into 300 metres of the lake. The statement said: “Realtors partially filled the lake with the intention of making way for their layouts. Huge boulders were brought in and large quantities of sand and silt was dumped to lay the road.”
Mr. Ranga Reddy alleged that thousands of truckloads of silt and boulders were used openly to lay the road through the lake, yet the violation was not condoned by the then government.
HYDRAA reported that on receiving complaints from local residents, an enquiry by the agency confirmed that the road was built illegally inside the lake prompting the agency to begin encroachment clearing operations.
In another incident after receiving complaints of ongoing dumping by Serilingampally MLA Arekapudi Gandi, Commissioner HYDRAA A.V. Ranganath, on Thursday inspected the Gangaram Cheruvu in Chandanagar area of Serilingampally mandal of Rangareddy district. Speaking to the media, Mr. Ranganath said: “Irrigation officials have filed cases against those dumping in December 2023. The HYDRAA lake protection guards also lodged a complaint with the Chandanagar police station recently. “
He further emphasised the need to set up a HYDRAA police station to dig deeper into each case of lake encroachment.
The Commissioner also visited the Sunnam Cheruvu near Borabanda, to take stock of the lake revival works underway. He instructed the officials to ensure that the work is completed before the upcoming monsoons, a statement said.
Published – March 20, 2025 09:45 pm IST
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