POST-IMMERSION DRIVE:HUDA Chairman D. Sudheer Reddy and Secunderabad MP Anjan Kumar Yadav participating in the cleaning of the Hussainsagar lake on Thursday. — PHOTO: Satish H.

HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad Urban Development Authority launched post Ganesh immersion annual cleaning up of the Hussainsagar on Thursday.

Launched under the supervision of Buddha Purnima Project Authority, several volunteers including 30 NCC cadets and 50 Army personnel, besides the Bhagyanagar Ganesh Utsav Samithi, joined the clean up efforts.

Though the clean up action was taken up by HUDA 12 days after the centralised immersion, the HUDA Chairman D. Sudheer Reddy and in-charge Vice-chairman K.S. Jawahar Reddy said it would still help in clearing the residual, metallic particles, meshes and other debris immersed in the waters.

On the last day of Ganesh puja celebrations, about 13,000 idols more than eight feet in height were immersed in the Hussainsagar while the total number of idols immersed in the lake was close to 25,000.

The Chairman said 200 truckloads of debris would be cleared from the lakebed including waste thrown during immersion.

MP Anjan Kumar Yadav and corporators also participated in the programme taken up for creating awareness about preventing pollution of the lake.

Speaking on the occasion, HUDA Chairman Sudheer Reddy said Hussainsagar, once a fresh water lake has become highly polluted due to the sewage and industrial effluents let into the lake directly over the years.

Japanese-aided project

A major Hussainsagar clean-up project with the aid of the Japanese Bank for International Cooperation would be implemented next year. Under the project, tertiary sewage treatment plants and sewer network for residential colonies would be provided to divert the sewage into STP for treatment before letting it into the lake. The JBIC team would be coming to the city for finalisation of the project on October 17. While JBIC agreed to extend Rs. 270 crores aid, HUDA would contribute Rs. 30 crores, he said.

Mr. Reddy said a solution for immersion of idols in the Hussainsagar would be worked out in such a way that the entire lake would not be polluted nor the sentiments of the people hurt. Mr.Hanmanth Rao of samiti said that it was wrong to assume that immersion polluted the lake.

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