After a string of swank eateries and an amusement park, it is a modern multiplex that has come to haunt the dying' Hussainsagar. In fact, a petition seeking clearance for the project, which could further shrink the iconic water body, has been submitted to the Supreme Court by a group of businessmen from the city, proposing to "construct a commercial complex/multiplex" on an area measuring 3 acres 39 guntas. Interestingly a portion of this land is "abutting the peripheries of the lake" .

The Apex Court, that is yet to pronounce its verdict on the appeal, had in April 2005 issued an interim order stalling all construction activity in and around the Hussainsagar without the consent of the court. The move was aimed at saving Hyderabad's most important water body from further encroachments. In fact, the petitioners Om Prakash Modi, Ajay Modi and B Sampath Kumar have now approached the Supreme Court taking shelter under the ambiguity of the 2005 order, that does not clarify the word "around" and the extent of the area surrounding the lake that needs to be kept free of any construction.

While the applicants, in their submission before the court, have predictably claimed that construction on this land (spread across Survey Nos 207/1 and 207/2) is unlikely to cause any "adverse environmental impact" to the water body, environmentalists vehemently disagree. They maintain that the area in question is "well within the water spread" of the lake and could spell doom for Hussainsagar that is already reeling under the burden of illegal constructions. Their concern is also rooted in the fact that a part of this land is still entangled in a legal battle with the state government.

"Considering the existing 'load' of construction on the Hussainsagar , it is quite shocking to see another appeal being made to develop a multiplex there.

We must realize the importance of having a water body in the urban ambience and look for its survival and for its death!

(AW:Samrat Biswas)