HUDA to develop small ponds in lakes for idol

By VL Srinivasan

Published on March 23, 2007

Hyderabad: BRUSHING aside the objections raised by the Bhagyanagar Ganesh Utsav Samithi (BGUS), the Hyderabad Urban Development Authority (HUDA) is planning to develop nine segregated Ganesh idol immersion ponds in as many water bodies in and around the twin cities.
The plan to develop alternative immersion sites was mooted following the success of a pilot project taken up in the Safilguda Lake last year. It is also in accordance with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)
guidelines which also say that the segregated ponds should have platforms and the facility to drain out water after immersion.
The segregated immersion ponds will be developed in the Saroornagar Lake, Mir Alam tank, Rangadhamuni Cheruvu, Hasmathpet Cheruvu, Amber Cheruvu, Patan Cheruvu, Langar Houz Lake, Kapra and a small portion of the Hussainsagar in front of KIMS Hospital on the Minister's Road.
The Safilguda Lake was restored by HUDA in 2002 and a segregated immersion pond was created last year in an area of 1.2 acres of the total lake area of 27 acres. A 65-metre Coffer dam with sand bags was built separating the main water spread area of the lake. The depth of the immersion pond was 8-12 feet and the existing sluice was utilised to de-water the area after immersion and for removal of idols and debris.
As many as 1,181 big Ganesh idols apart from several small ones were immersed here after Vinayaka Chaviti last year.
The plan is part of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) project (2006-12) for the Hussainsagar improvement, expected to begin in 2007-08.
According to official sources, the AP Pollution Control Board (APPCB), which has monitored the water quality at half-a-dozen locations between Aug 25 and Sept 9 last year (Ganesh festival days), found that the concentration of Dissolved Oxygen (DO) depleted in the lake after immersions. The Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), the Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), hardness, alkalinity and Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) increased.
The APPCB also noticed that the depletion in DO was mainly at the immersion points and did not spread to the rest of the lake.