Twin reservoirs of Hyderabad shrivel in realty storm Premium
The Hindu
As State Cabinet announces the scrapping of G.O. 111, realty begins to boom around Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar reservoirs, reigniting the debate on the definition and actual cost of real estate development
The calm waters of Gandipet Lake, a well-known tourist destination in the city, are caught in the midst of real estate turbulence.
The security staff posted much ahead of the bund collects ₹50 per head as an entrance fee to go to the lake, which was once a free-for-all entry. They object to anybody seen in the surroundings with a camera.
“You may not use a camera around here,” the guard warns, standing at the reservoir where lakhs of tourists might have visited and clicked pictures over the past century.
Mushrooming in close proximity to the reservoir is a plethora of new villas and multistoried buildings. Excavator machinery is deployed by private builders to flatten the earth for more construction, against the norms stated in the much-contested Government Order (G.O.) 111.
Since the Cabinet decision to scrap G.O. 111 was shared with the media by State Finance Minister T. Harish Rao last week, the area around the reservoir became an impenetrable fortress where public movement is restricted, and the presence of media cameras is questioned.
Meanwhile, the cancellation of G.O. 111 has become the topic of debate in all news channels. Worried environmentalists took to multiple media platforms to condemn the move.
What came as a surprise to everyone is that the main stakeholders, the people of the villages where the G.O. is in force, maintaining a stoic silence.
he Tamil Nadu Government will take appropriate decision to protect the welfare and livelihood of Manjolai tea estate workers as Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation, which is managing the tea gardens for the past 90-odd years, is about to wind up its operations in near future, Speaker M. Appavu has said.