Will raze encroachments at water bodies: CM

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Sunday reiterated the state government’s commitment to protect hundreds of lakes in the city and prevent drinking water scarcity by removing illegal encroachments on lakes. “The government will not spare those who have encroached upon lakes and will crack down on such activities even if they are influential in society,” Revanth Reddy said, a day after HYDRAA demolished a convention centre co-owned by actor Akkineni Nagarjuna.

“I want to do some good to the people as part of that (dharma). The sole objective is to liberate these lakes from the encroachers. We will crush encroachments with an iron hand. Though there are pressures, we will not go back and we will remove those encroachments,” Revanth Reddy said. He was speaking after laying the foundation stone for Hare Krishna heritage tower in Narsingi on Sunday. The Chief Minister said that the 430-feet tower will be the pride of Telangana.

"This is not a programme for politics or political parties. We have undertaken this programme to ensure a better life for the future generations. Our government stands for upholding dharma," Reddy said, “That is the reason despite pressures, though (some of our) friends have farmhouses, the HYDRAA was created (for protecting lakes and government properties),” he said. He also said some of the



farmhouses built near lakes release sewer into drinking water bodies such as Gandipet which supply drinking water to parts of the city.

Revanth Reddy said that he would be committing a grave blunder if cannot protect lakes from encroachers. “If we let go of the encroachers, people of the city will face difficulties in getting drinking water in the near future. The Nizam had noticed 115 years back that lakes must be protected from floods that had hit the city from Vikarabad forests. The Nizams built Osmansagar and Himayatsagar lakes for drinking water purposes for the city people. But a number of rich people have constructed farmhouses near the lakes and made underground drainage systems illegally to merge drainage water to Gandipet lake and other lakes.

"Keeping in mind these issues, the state government has started demolishing illegal encroachments on lakes and its surroundings. We will not hesitate to continue such an operation so as to protect lakes, rivers and canals in Telangana," the Chief Minister said. Stating that the state government gave top priority to the education and medical sectors, he asked the Hare Krishna Trust to supply food to patients at Gandhi and Osmania hospitals and NIMS. He assured them that the government would provide basic infrastructure.