Hyderabad Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has defended the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency’s demolition drive against lake encroachments, saying the restoration of water bodies is essential to protect the city from urban flooding. He made the remarks while inaugurating the restored Thammidikunta lake on Wednesday.
Reddy said the government would not tolerate encroachments on lakes and tanks and would continue action to restore water bodies. According to Telangana Today, he said Hyderabad once had 1,372 lakes, but nearly half had disappeared because of encroachments and other reasons.
The Chief Minister linked the loss of lakes to the disruption of Hyderabad’s natural drainage system. He said the disappearance and shrinking of water bodies had contributed to roads and residential colonies being inundated during rains, making lake restoration a necessary part of addressing the city’s flooding problem.
At Thammidikunta, Reddy said the lake had shrunk to 14 acres before being expanded to 30 acres through restoration work. He also thanked actor Akkineni Nagarjuna for voluntarily handing over two acres to the government. The report did not specify the total cost of the restoration or the agencies responsible for carrying out the work.
Reddy said the government planned to develop a lake economy alongside the Musi river rejuvenation project. He proposed positioning Thammidikunta lake as a hub for lake-based economic activity and cultural celebrations, although details of the proposed activities, funding arrangements and operating authority were not provided.
The Chief Minister also referred to Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar, reservoirs built during the Nizam’s rule to protect Hyderabad from floods in the Musi river. He said the Musi had since become polluted and that people in Nalgonda district were facing the consequences of government neglect. He said the first phase of the Musi rejuvenation works would begin shortly.
The comments place lake restoration, encroachment removal and river rejuvenation within a single urban water-management agenda. Hyderabad’s lakes historically acted as storage and drainage spaces, but the extent to which individual water bodies can reduce flood risk depends on their catchments, interconnections and protection from further construction. The report did not provide an official inventory of the lakes that have disappeared or details of the legal process followed in each demolition.
Reddy assured residents that no one would suffer a loss during the process and appealed to political parties to support the Musi project. The government’s next stated steps are to begin the first phase of the rejuvenation works and continue efforts to restore and protect Hyderabad’s lakes and tanks.
