400-year-old Golconda lake filled partially for temporary road

A portion of the lake’s wall had collapsed during October 2020 rains and was fenced. Later, the fencing also caved in

The 400-year-old Katora Houz artificial lake inside the Golconda Fort is being filled up to widen the road on its north-western side. “The wall had collapsed and we are filling a little murram (laterite clay). It is not a wide road and is temporary,” said a Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation supervisor at the site.

A portion of the lake’s wall had collapsed during the October 2020 rains and was fenced by civic officials. But the fencing also caved in. The lake, which is surrounded by residential colonies, was cleaned of debris and water hyacinth in March. There have been other clean-up efforts as the lake becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes during summer and monsoon leading to complaints from the residents of the area.

“If they try to fill up the lake, people will be very upset. We will not let that happen,” said Ghouse Patel who runs a welding shop abutting the lake.

According to an Archaeological Survey of India official, the GHMC is filling the roadside portion with murram in view of the Bonalu festival rush. “As soon as our tender is finalised, they will remove the murram and we will do the conservation work,” said the ASI official.

However, the 7.5 acre lake is now filled with dumped road material, building debris and industrial trash generated by the small-scale factories in the area. The coved portion has been filled up and a five-metre wide road has been created.

Visitors to Golconda Fort’s Bala Hissar pass by the lake and the guides tell them about how the lake supplied drinking water during the eight-month siege of the fort by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s forces.