Begin Musi riverfront development work at the earliest: Telangana CM to officials

Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy directed officials concerned to commence work on the Musi riverfront development in Hyderabad as early as possible.

Reddy held a review meeting on the Musi riverfront development project with the officials who apprised him of the project, including locations and boundaries of the river.

He also instructed the officials to complete the exercise to start the development work at the earliest, an official release said.

The officials were asked to clean up the entire Musi river, which flows through the city, before starting the works.

The CM asked the officials to draw up Musi development plans to connect all historical structures along the river in the city. The CM also suggested division of work among officials to expedite the pace of work, the release added. River Musi, once a freshwater river, has turned into one of the most polluted rivers in the country. It originates in Ananthagiri hills in neighbouring Vikarabad district.

The 55-km long stretch of the historic Musi River in Hyderabad virtually turned into a sewage canal over several decades due to growing urbanisation and large scale encroachments along the river course.

During a recent meet after formation of new government, Revanth Reddy announced that the state government will take up “Musi Riverfront Project” under public-private-partnership mode, without causing financial burden on the state government.

The Musi, a tributary of River Krishna, which originates in Ananthagiri hills in Vikarabad district about 100km away from the city, passes through Hyderabad for about 55km, before entering Nalgonda and merging with Krishna at Vadapally village in Suryapet district on Telangana-Andhra borders about 130km away.

In the first phase, the state government proposes to develop the 55-km-stretch of the Musi River in Hyderabad on the lines of Sabarmati Riverfront Project of Gujarat and Hooghly Riverfront Project of Kolkata. The areas along the river course be developed into a bustling economic growth centre and a pivotal job creation hub, besides transforming the entire stretch into a tourist attraction.