Beautification works have begun by GHMC to set up civic amenities and modernize the Mir Alam Tank, which is adjacent to the Nehru Zoological Park at Bahadurpura. The redevelopment of this historic lake at an estimated cost of Rs 40 crores. As per GHMC officials, by the end of 2021, the Mir Alam tank will see a transformation with cycling and walking tracks that will spread over a length of six kilometers.
The officials also claimed that the new works would also include fountains near the lake. The sewage entering the lake is going to be diverted to the sewerage treatment plant through a pipeline. Ninety percent of sewage will be stopped from entering the tank.
The tank witnessed gross negligence with the public throwing heaps of garbage, resulting in the accumulation of debris inside over the years, which resulted in the killing of many endangered species in the Zoo in 2018 and 2019 due to the polluted water from the tank.
In addition, the encroachments surrounding the Mir Alam tank have put the Zoo Park at an increased risk of flooding, forcing officials to shut down the 99-acre safari park for many days. In 19767, the Mir Alam Tank was 18.8 lakh sq m, but in 2021 it was reduced to 14.5 lakh sq m.
The satellite images were no less than shocking, which showed the extent to which water bodies in Hyderabad have fallen prey to urbanization and, as a result, have slowly decreased in size over the decades.