Cycling track to bird island: Raidurg's Malka Cheruvu gets a new makeover

Hyderabad: The restoration and development work at Malka Cheruvu lake has been completed. Under the lake restoration and rejuvenation programme, a permanent boundary was built with a cast iron grill. Water hyacinth and other floating weeds were removed from the lake and the inlets and outlets were improved.

Wetland or sedimentation ponds were built for treating inlet water. The main bund has been strengthened.

Two-kilometer walking, jogging, and cycling tracks were developed around the lake. An integrated children's play area has been opened beside the lake. Besides, view decks, physical fitness centers (open gym), an amphitheater for meetings or get-togethers, free playing lawns, and a bird island have also been arranged inside the lake premises.

The main gate has been conceptualized with a transitional character between the urban and lake setting.

A separate nimajjan pond (for idol immersion) has been formed to keep the lake intact. Trees have been planted bordering the lake and a Xerophyte (plants that require less water) garden has also been created inside the premises.

Meanwhile, an increased population of aquatic birds, sparrows, butterflies, and other avifauna have been noticed after the restoration efforts.

During the MA&UD minister's lake visit in 2018, Aparna Infra Housing Pvt. Ltd adopted Malka Cheruvu. The restoration & development of Malka cheruvu was taken up under their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) scheme with the approval of the GHMC standing committee. In coordination with the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) and GHMC, the sewage entering the lake was diverted through a ring sewer.

Malka Cheruvu

Malka Cheruvu lake is situated in Raidurg in Serilingampally Mandal in the Rangareddy district. The lake is adjoining the old Bombay highway road and has high tourism potential. It has a Full Tank Limit (FTL) area of 51.30 acres. Previously, the lake used to serve an ayacut (the area it irrigates) of approximately 20 acres whereas now it has no ayacut. This is one of the chain-link lakes connecting Durgam Cheruvu, Malka Cheruvu, Ibrahimbagh Cheruvu, and the river Musi.