Rampant encroachment on the lakebeds causes flooding in neighbouring areas such as Chandrayangutta, Bandlaguda and Nadeem Colony, as the lakes that have now shrunk can no longer store the water when it rains. The situation is particularly dire when the bunds across the lakes are breached. Last Friday, the Pallecheru bund at Bandlaguda in the city was damaged, and the waters flooded the nearby areas. The Gurrum Cheru bund at Chandrayangutta is also leaking. If it collapses, hundreds of homes in Hafiz Baba Nagar will be flooded by the lake water.
Citizens claim that the municipal and revenue authorities have failed to check the constructions coming up on the full tank level of the lake, which resulted in the shrinkage of the lakes. So when it rains, the lakes no longer have the capacity to hold the water, which overflows into the colonies. There are four lakes in the Chandrayangutta and Ban-dlaguda areas, and all of them have been encroached. They are: Gurram Cheru near Balapur road, Surram Cheru at Harijan Basti, Jalpalli Cheru near Ghouse Nagar, and Jalpalli and Palle Cheru at Bandlaguda.
The Palle Cheru lake in the Bandlaguda area has been encroached by several engineering colleges, which constructed buildings on the FTL boundary. During the recent rains, the bund of the lake was damaged, and water streamed onto the inner ring road. “Both politicians and officials are responsible for the encroachment in the lakes. At Palle Cheru in Bandla-guda, a number of buildings have been constructed,” Jasween Jairath, founder convener, Save Our Urban Lakes, which works to protect the lakes in the city. The bund of the Gurrum Cheru at Balanagar is on the verge of a collapse, and if it collapses, hundreds of homes in the FTL boundary will be under water.