RK Puram Lake in Hyderabad is currently dry despite recent heavy rains in the city. This is because the ongoing lake revival works have been stalled, preventing the lake from receiving any inflows during the rainy season.
Work on the lake began four years ago under Mission Kakatiya Phase IV. Two phases were initiated, with Part-A costing Rs 1,43,10,838 and Part-B costing Rs 8,54,61,407. However, only a portion of the allocated funds have been utilized, with the remaining amount still pending. The works were halted last year.
Initially, the irrigation department was responsible for the lake development and beautification works. However, the project was later handed over to HMDA. The halt in works was attributed to a lack of available labor due to COVID conditions and unprecedented rainfall last year. Only 20% of the beautification works have been completed, with a walkway being the only visible development.
Locals have highlighted that the catchment area of the lake is dry, leading to choked pipelines. The sewage water diversion system has also been affected by the lack of progress on the project. As a result, around 40,000 households are facing water shortages, forcing some to resort to re-boring. The affected colonies include Devi Nagar, Vidya Nagar, RKPuram Basti, Bank Colony, Sitaram Nagar, Balram Nagar, and Krishna Nagar.
Residents are urging for immediate action to complete the project and restore inflows to the lake. They emphasize the importance of ensuring that catchment areas receive sufficient water to prevent future water shortages in the region.
