The Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply & Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) has admitted that the twin reservoirs supplying drinking water to several parts of the city occasionally face the issue of pollution through sewage flow from the surrounding areas.
Through a video statement on Thursday, the Managing Director of the Board K. Ashok Reddy said over the years a few habitations have sprung in the areas surrounding the reservoirs from which sewage occasionally enters the water bodies. However, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has sanctioned ₹85 crore for construction of sewage treatment plants on either side of each reservoir which are expected to solve the problem. The STPs, four in number, will be ready within the next six months, after which the sewage entering the lakes may be fully treated.
The clarification came on the heels of a viral video clip which showed a tanker caught in the act of dumping septic waste into Osmansagar reservoir. The person who shot the video is seen accosting the tanker driver and questioning him about this infringement.
Responding to this, Mr. Ashok Reddy sought to clarify that an attempt was made to dump the septic waste into Gandipet reservoir through the tanker with the registered number TG11 T1833. A criminal case has been registered against the persons who resorted to this act, including driver of the tanker Ramavat Shiva Naik and the resident of Himayatnagar, Niranjan, at whose behest the dumping was attempted.
Moinabad police informed that cases were registered against both the accused under Section 279 of BNS that deals with fouling water of public spring or reservoir, and Section 43 of Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.
Three kinds of serious violations were noted in the incident, first the illegal use of the the HMWS&SB’s and GHMC’s logos on the tanker, unauthorised use of the vehicle for carrying sewage, and environmental pollution by way of mixing the septic waste in the protected reservoir.
Mr. Ashok Reddy informed that the tankers authorised to carry septic waste function through an app monitored by the Administrative Staff College of India. The tankers can be booked to carry the waste to any of the 45 STPs functioning in the city, where it can be treated.
Assuring that the water from the reservoirs is not polluted, he said the raw water is purified at Asif Nagar and Miralam treatment facilities before being pumped for the drinking water requirements. In future, it is planned to bring water from Godavari river and store in the reservoir, which rules out pollution, he said.
Published – December 18, 2025 08:42 pm IST
