The Indian city of Hyderabad was known as City of Lakes. Some of these lakes are natural and various are man made bodies.[1] As per various sources only a few decades back, Hyderabad had a large number of water bodies such as lakes, reservoirs, rivers, streams, aquaculture ponds, tanks, etc (as per some sources between 3000 and 7000 including natural and manmade bodies. Locally known as cheruvu, kunta, tanks ).
Most of these lakes and tanks were built during the regime of Qutub Shah in 16th and 17th century and later by Nizams as a source of drinking water for the residents of Hyderabad.[2][3]
Khajaguda TalabHimayat Sagar which was once a major source of drinking water for Hyderabad
As per the data from National Remote Sensing Centre, between 1979 and 2023 there has been a reduction of 61% in city’s lake area. Area occupied by 56 lakes were examined and it was found that the total area of these lakes has shrunk from 40.35 km2 (15.58 sq mi) 16 km2 (6.2 sq mi).Most of these lakes have totally disappeared and the surface area of most of the surviving lakes have shrunken and turned to tiny ponds and cesspool.[5]
Some of the lakes which have totally disappeared are Tigal Kunta, Somajiguda Tank, Mir Jumla tank, Pahar Tigal Kunta, Kunta Bhawani Das, Nawab Saheb Kunta, Afzalsagar, Nallakunta, Masab Tank etc.[6]
Hussainsagar Lake, Kunta Mallaiyapalli have also shrunk drastically.[7]
Out of thousands of water bodies those were existing in 1970s in various sizes in and around Hyderabad, today only about 500 of them have survived. Most of them have disappeared due to encroachment or have been illegally drained for real estate projects by private or government agencies. The existing lakes have been used to dump garbage and sewage water. Most of these lakes and tanks were built during the regime of Qutub Shah in 16th and 17th century and later by Nizams as a source of drinking water for the residents of Hyderabad.[3][8]
The Jubilee Bus Station is located where once the Picket lake used to exist. Madhapur the IT hub of Hyderabad once used to be a network of lakes. The MaSaheba Tank which is now Masab Tank has also almost disappeared and today is occupied by various residential and commercial buildings.[9]
The area of Hussain Sagar, which is the largest lake in Hyderabad shrunk by more than 40% i.e. from 550 ha to 349 ha in just 30 years. This lake was built in 1575 AD and since 1930 is not being used as a source for drinking water.[10]
Similarly, the area occupied by Shamirpet lake shrunk from 486 ha in 1989 to 256 ha in 2006. In total about 3245 ha of water bodies were lost in 12 years (from 1989 to 2001) as per the report by Anjal Prakash.[11]
Lake Revival Efforts by HMDA
The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) has been actively involved in the restoration and rejuvenation of lakes within the Hyderabad Metropolitan Region, focusing on ecological rehabilitation, water quality improvement, groundwater recharge, and environmental sustainability.[12]
Following a High Court directive, HMDA and GHMC identified ten priority lakes for immediate rejuvenation, including Durgam Cheruvu, Malkam Cheruvu, Kapra Lake, and Hussainsagar.[13] More recently, 12 lakes were earmarked for revival, such as Bathukammakunta in Amberpet and Mundikunta near the Hyderabad International Convention Centre.[14]
Panoramic view of the city of Hyderabad from the recently renovated Durgam Cheruvu lake (scroll on the photo to see the entire lake)
The Hyderabad Disaster Response & Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) has taken up six lake restoration projects, including Bathukamma Kunta, which began refilling naturally after decades of neglect.[15] HYDRAA has set a target to complete all six projects by mid-2025 and even developed a 3D transformation model for Nalla Cheruvu in Uppal.[16][17]
Private firms have also collaborated with HMDA, such as the Kotha Cheruvu project with GEF India and The Durgam Cheruvu project with raheja or the malkam cheruvu project with Aparna Real estate.[18] To coordinate lake conservation efforts, HMDA established the Lake Protection Committee, responsible for monitoring and safeguarding urban water bodies.[19]
Lakes of Hyderabad
A compiled list of lakes, their ID, District, Mandal and related news can be found on the government website of HMDA.
Details: Constructed in 1920, it serves as a major reservoir supplying drinking water to the city.
6. Durgam Cheruvu Area: 0.34 km² Location: Hyderabad, Telangana
Details: Also known as 'Secret Lake,' it served as a drinking water source during the Qutb Shahi dynasty. It has a total of 140 species of birds and is the most famous lake in hyderabad as of September 2025.
7. Saroornagar Lake Area: 0.4 km² Location: Hyderabad, Telangana
Details: Created in 1626, it was restored in 2003–04 and is now home to various migratory birds.
↑ Ravi Kumar (September 2013). Ground Water Brochure(PDF). Central Ground Water Board, Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India (Report). Hyderabad. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
↑ Prakash, Anjal (4 March 2013). Written at Hyderabad. Lakes of Hyderabad: Would they survive?(PDF). South Asia Consortium for Interdisciplinary Water Resources Studies (Report). New Delhi: Centre for Science and Environment. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
