'REDUNDANT' - AN UNFORGIVABLE EXPRESSION USED FOR OFFICIALLY DESIGNATED DRINKING WATER RESERVOIRS BY GOVERNMENT OF TELANGANA IN THE HIGH COURT at HYDERABAD

HYDERABAD 25 JULY2018

PRESS RELEASE

'REDUNDANT' - AN UNFORGIVABLE EXPRESSION USED FOR OFFICIALLY DESIGNATED DRINKING WATER RESERVOIRS BY GOVERNMENT OF TELANGANA IN THE HIGH COURT at HYDERABAD

Today we, (Sanghamitra, Asif Ali Khan, Lubna Sarwath), met Shri Suryanarayana, Director-Technical, Hyderabad Metro Water & Sewage Board at his office and gave him a representation (attached).

We urged that:

- Water Board take up with goverment counsel how he stated before high court that two existing drinking water reservoirs can be stated as 'redundant'. we showed him the news item of times of india.

Director said he was not aware of that.

Director also denied any knowledge about Joint Collector RR district filing affidavit in Tribunal regarding illegal layouts/structures/buildings.

we assured him that we would email him the same.

• Water board give us time frame when Hyderabadis can drink sweet waters of Gandipet and Himayat sagar, again, as water board has denied fundamental right of drinking waters supply from twin reservoirs to Hyderabadis.
• Water Board evict all inflow channel blockages and diversions, as Managing Director has himself expressed anguish that despite Excess rainfall in catchment the twin reservoirs failed to be filled up.

• We also reminded him that very recently when Water board asked for release of Nagarjuna sagar waters for the Hyderabad city, the Chief Engineer denied stating that water was needed for irrigation.

Hence, it is simple commonsense and wisdom that we nurture our heritage water reservoirs and not make our city dependent on far off water sources, which are again unpredictable;

These two reservoirs are the shaan(pride) of our city and its pride is essentially in restoring its glory of being able to supply drinking water on a continuum, as it used to be when the inflow channels were not diverted/blocked.

Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar should not be treated as lakes but as two drinking water reservoirs.

As 'Purification of Land records' process is completed, government immediately examine and tell the court, who are the major land holders in the 84 villages of GO111, and, who are those demanding for shrinking of GO111(as mentioned in HMDA counter affidavit in high court), so that people understand government better when its counsel called the drinking water reservoirs as 'redundant'.

The entire hydrological architecture and structure as bequeathed to the city by VII Nizam Osman Ali Khan through his eminent engineers Sir Mokshagundam Visweswarayya and Mir Ahmed Ali, Nawab Ali Nawaz Jung Bahadur, should be preserved as a heritage marvel in essential utility on a continuum.

Sanghamitra Malik(Poetess & Activist)

Asif Ali Khan(Hyderabadi Architect), 

Dr Lubna Sarwath(General Secretary, Socialist Party(India)-Telangana