HYDERABAD: Indiscriminate dumping of animal waste coupled with the uncontrolled passage of sewerage into the Ramakrishnapuram Lake (RK Puram Lake) resulted in the foaming, revealed preliminary investigations carried out by officials of the Telangana State Pollution Control Board (PCB). The board will now come up with a detailed action plan to restore the lake.
Following instructions from the minister for municipal administration and urban development (MA&UD) K T Rama Rao, PCB officials visited the lake on Saturday morning and collected samples for testing.
“In the preliminary tests, we found that the water in the lake was filled with organic waste and had a high content of chemicals like nitrates and phosphates,“ said N Raveendhar, a senior official of the board. The count of phosphates in the lake was found to be a high 10 milligrams per litre, while the prescribed norm is less than one milligram per litre. During their visit, the officials also found a lot of animal waste and viscera strewn along the banks of the lake.
“We were shocked to see the skin and viscera of animals like pigs, dogs and other cattle lying along the banks.The waste was most probably being dumped into the nalas that feed into the lake thus choking it,“ he said.
According to experts, the waste dumped into the lake led to eutrophication -dense growth of plant resulting from the presence of excessive rich nutrients.
“From our initial investigation, all we could ascertain is that there is a lot of organic waste inside the water. Their reaction with the water was further aggravated during the recent rains, which catalysed the entire process. That is why there was a lot of foam inside the lake,“ said B V Sub ba Rao, an expert on urban lakes and their biology .
Decrying the officials' allegations on animal viscera, residents of the area however, pointed out that there is no abbatoir or meat shop in the vicinity for animal waste to be found.
“The animal bones and viscera that the officials found could just be circumstantial,“ said Daniel Prem Raj, a resident of the area. A final report on the lake and its current `health' is expected to be readied by the end of this week, officials said.
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