Andhra Pradesh   

Kapra lake languishing in neglect

Staff Reporter

Altercations, fisticuffs and catcalls are common in the night, complain residents

HYDERABAD: The stale air is all pervading. There is no semblance of cool breeze and pleasing climate, which is the case in the vicinity of any lake. However, the dismal surroundings of Kapra lake are yet to move the municipal officials into reviving it.

The extensive shrub cover provides a safe haven for locals working at nearby construction sites to booze the nights away. Altercations, fisticuffs and catcalls in the night are common, complain residents.

Dumping of garbage, open defecation, uncontrolled growth of shrubs and foliage along the lakeshore, breeding mosquitoes, has become part of life for residents here. They say they had never bargained for this sort of surroundings when they first decided to settle down in colonies near the lake.

"People have been killed and bodies dumped in the lake. Some commit suicides and in nights, drunkards take over the spot," says V. Ganesh residing in Netaji Nagar near the lake.

No headway

Former Home Minister and TDP leader T. Devender Goud had laid a foundation stone for beautification of the lake and also for increasing greenery in 1999. With the project making no headway, Mr. Goud again laid another foundation stone in 2004. The fate of the second stone has been no different so far.

"Till now, neither Kapra municipal officials nor HUDA officials have done anything. Till recently, this place was a hub for selling toddy that attracted a lot of unsocial elements here," said Praveen Prakash residing in the nearby Balaji Nagar.

Official version

HUDA and Kapra officials, however, point out that the project is still in the planning stages. "At the moment the Nacharam lake is being revived and very soon we are planning to beautify the Kapra lake as well. In fact, we also have plans to build gardens, increase the green cover and lay a 60-feet road till Balajinagar from Sainikpuri," Kapra Commissioner S. Ramnarayana Reddy said.

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