After court win, HYDRAA begins development works at Bathukamma Kunta
HYDRAA chief AV Ranganath directed the officials concerned to carry out restoration, development and beautification work of this lake on a war footing
By Sistla Dakshina Murthy
After court win, HYDRAA begins development works at Bathukamma Kunta
Hyderabad: Amid recitation of Vedic hymns by the priests, HYDRAA commissioner AV Ranganath on Wednesday launched development works at Bathukamma Kunta.
Speaking on the occasion, Ranganath directed the officials concerned to carry out restoration, development and beautification work of this lake on a war footing and make it accessible for the public for the upcoming Bathukamma festival.
Legal victory for locals and HYDRAA
The HYDRAA commissioner also said that if the Bathukamma Kunta is restored, the entire environment would become pleasant and asked the locals to cooperate in the work. The residents attended the occasion in huge numbers and assured the commissioner that they would fully cooperate with the development projects.
In a significant legal victory for the HYDRAA, the City Civil Court on Tuesday backed the agencyās claim in the Bathukamma Kunta case, dismissing private ownership claims to the Lake. On February 18, HYDRAA discovered a secret water source during excavation to restore Bathukamma Kunta in Amberpet.
HYDRAA started working on resurrecting Amberpetās Bathukamma Kunta in November 2024 after Ranganath inspected the lake and its surroundings. At the moment, the lake is only mentioned in the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority's (HMDA) records, and there is no trace of water.
Data on lake assessment
In survey No 563 of Bagh Amberpet Mandal, the lake covered 14.06 acres, according to the 1962-1963 statistics. Officials from the survey verified that the buffer zone included 16.13 acres in total. The most recent assessment shows that just 5.15 acres of the lake are left.
On March 12, police booked BRS leader Aedla Sudhaker Reddy for unlawfully entering public property. Sudhaker Reddy has been falsely claiming the ownership of Bathukamma Kunta in Amberpet. After nearly a month of arguments, City Civil Court Judge M Venkateswara Rao delivered the verdict, granting life to Bathukamma Kunta.
This verdict has given a boost to HYDRAA, which has begun the development of lakes in the city, such as Bumrukh Dawala (Old City), Tammidi Kunta behind N Convention, Sunnam Cheruvu (Guttala Begumpet, Madhapur), Nalla Cheruvu (Kukatpally) and Nalla Pedda Cheruvu (Uppal to Warangal Highway), apart from Bathukamma Kunta.
