Hussain Sagar: Lake Lustre

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The lake, its size and purity are threatened by the ecologically inimical activity of immersion of Ganesha and Durga idols every year and industrial waste, not to mention encroachments blessed by political patronage. This, according to an expert, results in continuous increase of sedimentation and injection of sulphate that endangers marine life. Irrespective of what party is in power, governments lack the political will to check or control these immersions. Yet Hussain Sagar is the most popular boulevard and very scenic, its magnetism increased by a three-kilometre-long row of flowerbeds and lush green lawns running from north to south. On the west is a long protective and ornamental railing parallel to a row of wrought iron benches for romance-prone couples to forget time and mundane world.

Dotting the lawns and flowerbeds on the eastern side are an array of statues to commemorate the services of a host of luminaries who are an inseparable part of the history of the state. These bronze statues range from those of pioneers of Telugu classical poetry like Nannaya Bhattaraka, the great saint composer Thyagaraja, the thirteenth century Kakatiya warrior queen Rudrama Devi, the illustrious founder of Hyderabad Muhammed Quli Qutb Shah, the bard Vemana of the sixteenth century to Arthur Cotton who harnessed the life-giving waters of the Krishna and Godavari rivers and made Andhra Pradesh the rice bowl of the south, and progressive writers and poets like Sri Sri and Maqdoom Mohiuddin.

The lake is surrounded by four major spans of greenery, Indira Park in the east, Sanjiviah Park in the north, Lumbini Park in the south and a green belt area sandwiched between the Raj Bhavan road and the Necklace Road. Indira Park, named after former prime minister Indira Gandhi, is the earliest of these four parks and also a favourite site among the city people. It is also the most sought after locale for shooting Telugu and Hindi films. It boasts of a large nursery, which provides free saplings to persons who wish to add to the city’s greenery. The famous and ancient temple of Katta Maisamma, meaning goddess of the dam, is very close to this park and attracts lakhs of devotees every year.

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