Hyderabad: After Dharani Nagar canal, RK Puram lake starts frothing

HYDERABAD: A day after residents spotted froth in a Dharani Nagar canal, Ramakrishnapuram lake, about 20 km away began emitting foam on Saturday evening.
“There has been no foam or froth in the lake for the last one-month. But after the rains, the foam was formed in the lake again. It shows that pollutants are entering the lake,“ said Phani, a resident of Devinagar Colony, abutting the lake.According to experts, the waste dumped into the lake led to dense plant growth resulting from the presence of rich nutrients, like phosphates and nitrates.
Phosphates are used in detergents to soften the water, but they also cause excessive aquatic plant growth, whose decomposition later reduces the dissolved oxygen level in the water bodies necessary for the survival of fish and other aquatic organisms.
“From our initial investigation, all we could ascertain is that there is a lot of organic waste inside the water. Its reaction with the water was further aggravated in the recent rains, which catalysed the entire process. That is why there is a lot of foam on the lake,“ said B V Subba Rao, an expert on urban lakes and their biology .
Officials from the Telangana State Pollution Control Board (TSPCB), said they have drawn up immediate plans to curb this menace.
“The cause of foam in the canal could be the presence of filamentous bacteria. Since the movement of water inside the canal is considerably turbulent, it must be aggravating the bacteria, resulting in foam,“ N Raveendhar, a senior scientist with the board, said.
The board has also written a letter to the secretary of the Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD) department, asking him to direct civic officials to take measures to curb the frothing . GHMC would place sand bags along the canal banks to contain the foam. Similarly , HMDA would take measures to divert any industrial pollution entering the lake and the water board would plan to improve water quality .
TIMES VIEW:
Authorities should carry out a detailed probe to find the causes behind the mysterious foam in lakes across the city. So far, no effort has been made to stop pollutants from entering few of the lakes, where formation of foam has been a regular occurence.