It is a small, oval-shaped lake nestled in a patch of green space at the intersection of Road No. 5 with Road No. 10, which leads to the Jubilee Hills Checkpost.
The pond recently underwent a makeover thanks to a lake adoption agreement between the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation and a global service organization. Instead of the slime littered around the edges that we saw about six months ago, it is possible to see a well-laid footpath surrounding the pond, lined with mature trees. A parapet wall separates the walkway from the newly created cladding sloping down to the lake, and between the stone slope an occasional tree rises diagonally towards the lake. In another scenario, the trees would create an enchanting reflection in the water of the pond, giving the viewers a picturesque picture. Here they were lost in the mossy green standing water of a pond that had not been there the day before.
“It’s galley water,” the worker replies when asked if it’s stagnant rainwater or water coming out of a sewer pipe. The plan to restore the lake here involved the removal of sewage along with mud removal, the construction of revetment and the creation of a walkway. Accordingly, the sewage in front of the pond was diverted from the massive drain and fresh inlets and outlets were created to connect it to the storm sewer network.
“The sewage flowing into the lake is not from sewer pipes or old storm water drains, but from freshly laid drains,” says Uday Krishna Peddireddi of the Vata Foundation, which is monitoring the pond’s development efforts. It calls into question the entire effort and funds put into the project without addressing the basic issue of dumping sewage into the sewers, which is a pervasive phenomenon in Hyderabad.
“The mechanical way the bureaucracy works is deplorable. They reduced the pond by dumping truckloads of earth and rubble into it to create a footpath. In case of heavy rains, it is not even in a position to absorb the rush of flood water down the road. It will end up as another very expensive waste water tank,” he fumes. Officials from GHMC were not available for comment.
Published – 14 Jan 2026 20:44 IST
