The document discusses the pollution issues affecting Safilguda Lake in Hyderabad, India. It outlines how sewage and garbage dumping has turned the once scenic lake into a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Local residents complain about the stench and health problems caused by the pollution. The authorities are blamed for neglecting to properly maintain the lake and control the pollution issues.

1. TABLE OF CONTENTS
S.no Topic Page No.
OVERVIEW
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OVERVIEW
CAUSES OF WATER POLLUTION
ABOUT SAFILGUDA LAKE
RECENT ISSUES AT LAKE
DOMESTIC SEWAGE DISPOSING INTO THE WATER
PROBLEMS DUE TO MIROBIAL LIFE
MOSQUITO MENACE AT THE LAKE
OTHER PROBLEMS
CONCLUSION
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2. Water covers two-thirds of the Earth’s surface, with over 97% present in the
oceans and less than 1% in freshwater streams and lakes. Water is also present in the
atmosphere in solid form in the polar icecaps and as groundwater in deep
underground. Water has many remarkable properties. It is sometimes referred to as
‘the universal solvent’, readily dissolving a wide range of chemical substances. It also
acts as a fluid medium facilitating the dispersal of un-dissolved particulate matter.
Water pollution may be defined as any chemical or physical change in water
detrimental to living organisms. It can occur through natural processes, for example by
sediments produced by natural erosion. Water bodies are a major recipient of an
extensive array of wastes produced by human activity. These may be discharged
directly into watercourses by sewers or pipes from factories or be washed down from
agricultural or urban areas particularly after heavy rains. Under rather exceptional
circumstances, water bodies may become significantly contaminated by the
atmospheric deposition of pollutants.
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Water Availability on the Planet :
The water that is found in streams, rivers, lakes, wetlands and artificial
reservoirs is called surface water. Water that percolates into ground and fills the pores
in the soil and rock is called ground water. Porous water-saturated layers of sand,
gravel or bedrock though which ground water flows are called “aquifer’s “. Most
aquifers are replenished naturally by the rainfall that percolates downwards towards
the soil and rock. This process is called natural recharge.
If the with drawl rate of an aquifer exceeds its natural recharge rate, the
water table is lowered. Any pollutant that is discharged onto the land above is also
pulled into the aquifer and pollutes the groundwater, resulting in polluted water in the
nearby wells.
CAUSES OF WATER POLLUTION

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The main causes of water pollution are :
 Discharge of untreated industrial and domestic sewage into water bodies.
 Bathing animals, washing clothes, etc., in or around lakes, rivers and water
bodies.
 Oil leaks from ferry boats or ships.
 Agricultural pollutants like inorganic pesticides and chemical fertilizers draining
into water bodies.
 Disposal of garbage in and around lakes, rivers or water bodies.
From the next section we shall discuss the pollution of our case study
about the pollution of Safilguda Lake.
ABOUT SAFILGUDA LAKE
Safilguda is a residential suburb in hyderabad, it comes under the
Malkajgiri municipality. There is a lake popularly known as “Safilguda Lake “ or “Nadimi

4. cheruvu “.The boundary road around the lake is fashioned like the "tank bund" on the
Hussain Sagar Lake and hence is also referred to as “mini tankbund”. This is a popular
attraction for the localites for jogging and evening-walks.
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5. Apart from being a hangout destination for people of safilguda, the lake also
plays host to a variety of birds, ducks and squirrels. The lush greenery around the
lake provides a great scenic beauty to the place and also defines “living with nature”.
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6. RECENT ISSUES AT THE LAKE
As of late the so called “Safilguda Lake” is being drastically polluted thanks to
the official apathy of the HUDA. When the lake was inaugurated in 2000, residents
welcomed the carving out of a proper lung space in the cluttered neighbourhood.
However, today that same lake is a picture of neglect, dotted with stinking
garbage piles and a breeding place for mosquitoes.
Sewage from the adjoining buildings now finds its way into the lake and, in what
is a sure indication of a lost cause, boating and canteen facilities, too, have stayed
closed for around four years now.
Revathi Joshi, a resident, said: "The stench every summer is unbearable. Refuse
from the fish market nearby and waste from various pujas performed by people, too,
end up in the lake. We suffer a lot due to the mosquitoes that breed in its dirty waters".
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7. And to add to the problems of the lake, every year a massive amount of POP gets
deposited into the lake during Ganesh immersion. The sound pollution around the lake
is too high during those times even though the police don’t permit such loud noise after
10 in the night
Hundreds of people visit the park for their morning and evening walks and these
visitors now lament the sad pass the place has come into. The last time the entire lake
was cleaned was in January 2011.Residents say they miss the time when the lake was
better maintained.
Any activity in the name of maintenance is merely a hog wash. Elected
representatives are also least bothered to do their bit to save the lake.
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8. Trouble of domestic sewage disposing
into the water
The tiles on the walk-way have chipped off, the benches are broken, and the
walk-way around the lake has broken down at certain places and is dumped with
leaves and trash. People regularly dump polythene bags full of trash into the lake
heedless to the fact that it might lead to clogging of the drain down the stream.
Another one of the most neglected aspect of domestic sewage depostion is that a
municipal drainage runs just along the bank of the lake without proper maintanence.
The probability of it leaking someday has left the locals in imminent danger of parasital
attacks and diseases.
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9. Also some part of the water is sent for treatment ,which torments the locals say the
drainage leaks and all filthy water gets treated and supplied to their houses. Who
would want to drink water that has been treated of sewage?.
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10. Problems arising due to microbial life
Stench is one of the main problems the locals are facing due to healthy
flourishment of microbial life at the lake. Several regular visitors from all age-groups
voiced their concern over the stench and neglect of upkeep of the park. The signs of
neglect are apparent at Safilguda lake park, one of the first highly polluted lakes
restored by HUDA under the Conservation and Restoration Project of Green
Hyderabad Environment Programme four years ago.
Thus taking a serious view of complaints about stench and poor upkeep of
the lake area, HUDA officials who inspected the park last week concluded that the
spread of blue-green algae in the lake, a seasonal growth noticed in summer months,
was the cause of the stench and initiated measures to clear the algal growth.
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11. The official also said that once the algae is removed, it would also be
investigated to find out if any untreated sewage was finding its way into the lake. Even
the lake is also not being treated properly
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12. Mosquito menace at the lake
Another problem at the lake is the year-long breeding of mosquitos at all parts
of the lake. The authorities have failed in controlling the rapid growth of mosquitoes at
the lake and alas! as a result the number of malarial cases have been on the rise.
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14. Other problems
Not only the lake, but also the park adjacent to it is a haven for people who
decide to take a cople off hours among clean air , and lush greenery. There is no
proper waste management techniques at hand. Yet the locals continue to neglect the
important aspect of “cleanliness is next to godliness”. The dust bins are out of shape
and capacity to hold any waste at all.
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15. CONCLUSION
Thus the safilguda lake is one centre of ecological heritage, which requires dire
assitance to cope up with the maintanence and also, the fact that all necessary things
for the upliftment of social responsibility and civic assitance is of high end.
“Reduce - Reuse – Recycle” should be the mantra that all locals and every
person around and in safilguda must follow
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