Ameenpur Lake - Hyderabad

The 100-acre Ameenpur lake, the Hyderabad city’s second biggest bird viewing zone is under severe threat. Ameenpur Lake is a quiet little lake behind Miyapur on the way to Bachupalli and is on the backside of a heavy industrial area. The zone actually hosts the 93.15-acre Ameenpur lake or Peddacherruvu and five smaller ones: Kummarikunta (11.28 acres), Kothakunta (7.39), Settykunta (17.18), Bandamkunta (7.38) and Mallannakunta (39.18 acres).

Apart from birds, the lakes host a variety of fish, amphibians and reptiles including eight varieties of snakes such as checkered keel back and Russell’s viper. The biodiversity site has insects, butterflies and reptiles such as the oriental garden lizard, rock agama and fan-throated lizard. One can see a good numbers of egrets, herons, bee-eaters, cormorants, kingfishers, river terns etc at the lake.The lake has become one of the biggest attractions for waterfowl and migratory birds drawing in legions of photographers and birdwatchers during weekends.

Fish and insects are food for the birds. Many fish in this ecosystem have died as dangerous pollutants enter the lake. With little food, the birds are flying away to other places and are simply abandoning the lake.the lake is drying up and losing its precious eco-system to pollution. One wonders how did this lake stay intact?

The catchment area and the land abutting the lake have been encroached upon.The neighbouring colonies and industries, which sprung up on the banks and the lake bed, let out sewage and waste into the lake. Its feeder channels have been closed. Birds and reptiles are killed. The lake has been in utter neglect for a long time and the rampant encroachments continue unhindered with the connivance of the authorities concerned. Construction of apartments is undertaken in Surveys No. 322, 323, 324 which are within the full tank level area of Kothacheru of Ameenpur village.

Still on reaching the reasonably sized lake, one can see the huge number of birds that elect to stay there and make for a surprisingly pleasant viewing. The birds seem to co-exist with the surrounding industrial areas and seem comfortable in the lake area which seems to be rich with insects and fish etc keeping the birds happy. The number of species in the lake used to be 171, but a recent count recorded 186 which is a considerable number. With a little more effort, the number can reach 200. It can become a sustainable tourism site with watchtowers for children to observe the birds. 

Ameenpur Lake is designated as a biodiversity heritage site by the Government of Telangana on November 4 . The Ameenpur Lake got the tag due to sustained efforts since early 2015 by the Telangana State Special Protection Force to save the 93.15-acre lake with a series of clean-up campaigns in and around the lake. The Pollution Control Board is now working on putting up a sewage treatment plant with funds provided by the industries in the vicinity of the lake.

The litter is strewn around the banks and the plastic bags are thrown into the water and the locals just do not care. When I recently visited the lake, I found it extremely difficult to avoid the litter appearing in the pictures.

The pictures were shot with Panasonic Lumix LX3.