Behind the dazzling lights of the revamped
Durgam Cheruvu
, lies the reality of a lake that’s grappling with pollution. And that’s reaffirmed in
TOI-BITS Pilani
, Hyderabad’s recent water testing study which showed that the lake’s dissolved oxygen (DO) levels are distressingly low.
“The water samples were collected from the two sides of the lakes and on both sides the DO levels were nearly 3.3 mg/l, while pollutants on both sides also remained the same that included industrial waste and sewage.
However, to know specific components like chemicals and pharmaceu-ticals, a detailed study has to be done with water being monitored on a regular interval,” said environmental researcher
Amrutha Lahari
from
BITS Pilani
.
According to
UNEP
, the permissible DO limits should be no less than 10 mg/l.
Citing its effect on aquatic life,
Lahari
said this can directly impact the lake ecosystem. Incidentally, in December 2023 thousands of lifeless fishes were found floating on the surface of Durgam Cheruvu even as hundreds of them were left gasping. The images left environmentalists shocked who called for immediate measures to “fix” the lake.
They also flashed the Telangana State Control Board’s report, spanning from 2019 to 2023, which showed that the DO levelsof the water body consistently remained lower than 3.5 mg/l, reaching as low as 0.1 mg/l at times in recent years.
Further, a study titled ‘Organic Micropollutants in Durgam Cheruvu Lake’ unveiled the bleak condition of Durgam Cheruvu, identifying a total of 183 compounds of
organic micropollutants
in the water.
These included pharmaceuticals, herbicides, fungicides, pesticides, hormones, steroids, UV filters, plasticizers, cyanotoxins, and metabolites, pose significant threats to both human healthand aquatic animals. Pharmaceuticals emerged as the major pollutant, constituting 50% concentration, followed by metabolites at 9% and herbicides at 8%.
The research highlighted the potential harm these pollutants pose to both humans and aquatic animals, especially when mixed.
However, following the Telangana high court’s intervention, a three-member expert committee is now working towards addressing the lake’s condition.
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