Telangana water bodies to get check over ‘pollution’ notice issued by the fisheries department

Hyderabad, October 30: Due to pollution the water bodies have been contaminated, taking this severe condition into note the Telangana fisheries department has written to the Telangana State Pollution Control Board (TSPCB) to check the water quality in around 118 water bodies of state. 

The water bodies, primarily irrigation tanks, are likely to have been contaminated by industrial pollution, dumping of garbage and sewage water, said a senior official from the Fisheries department. The 118 water bodies are located in about 10 districts out of 31 in Telangana, he added.

The development comes a few weeks after the TSPCB penalized 18 industrial units in Sanga Reddy district, about 50km from Hyderabad, for letting contaminated water into the Gandigundem lake. Thousands of fish 120 tonnes, worth Rs 1 Crore perished in the contaminated water.

The TSPCB imposed a penalty of Rs 1.03 Crore on 18 units after it received complaints about Gandigundem and another lake called Ayyamma Medka district on 4 and 5 October. “The 118 water bodies about which we have written to the TSPCB were primarily irrigation tanks, but due to urbanization in nearby areas they are presently being used for recharging groundwater,” said the official. He added that apart from industrial pollution, dumping of garbage and letting in sewage into water bodies are a major cause for concern with regard to the contamination. According to another senior official from the fisheries department, Telangana has about 24,000 water bodies, most of which are secure.