GHMC to Construct Watchtowers Near Lakes in Hyderabad

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) plans to construct watchtowers on lakes in Hyderabad in order to strengthen surveillance on lakes. Issues such as debris disposal and encroachment are troubling officials. The Enforcement, Vigilance and Disaster Management (EVDM) wing along with GHMC department will be working together to tackle the issues.

Watchtowers Will be Set Up on Hyderabad Lakes

To prevent dumping of waste and to take actions against those involved in such practices apart from saving water bodies from encroachments, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) is now constructing watchtowers near them.

Every tower is constructed at the cost of Rs 7.5 lakhs, based on the location of lakes. The zonal commissaries have identified a few water bodies within their respective limits for the construction of watchtowers.

List of Proposed Lakes to Build WatchTowers

There are 185 lakes in the Serilingampally zone under GHMC limits, and officials of the zone have proposed to build the towers on 30 lakes. Similarly, Kukatpally zone officials are also constructing the towers at many lakes. They include

Kondapur
Gachibowli
Madhapur
Chandanagar
Mothukulakunta
Kotha Cheruvu
Chinnarayuni Cheruvu
IDC Lake
Balaji Nagar
Kamuni Cheruvu
Sunnam Cheruvu

There are currently 92 LPF staff at 17 lakes GHMC limits and planned to ensure 24/7 monitoring of the water bodies. The plan to build watchtowers at these lakes in a phased manner would increase the LPF intensity and help to deploy them at other lakes.

The GHMC aim is to ensure that waste and debris are not dumped in the lakes because this is typically done at night. Most specifically, steps were taken to prevent encroachments and illegal buildings in the lake areas. Upcoming watchtowers would help to stop these events.

Staff at these towers are deployed by LPF and operate in two shifts. They will capture images of the suspects and suspicious activities, especially buildings on the river banks. The pictures are shared every day with officials to take the necessary steps.

However, the construction of watchtowers helps to protect lakes from waste disposal. As a result, the residential houses in Hyderabad near the lakes would have a safe and healthy atmosphere.

By: Shailaja K