Hyderabad, Aug 18 (IANS): Continuing its crackdown on illegal structures to save water bodies in and around Hyderabad, Hyderabad Disaster Response and Assets Monitoring and Protection Agency (HYDRA), on Sunday, demolished unauthorised constructions near Gandipet reservoir on the outskirts of the city.

HYDRA personnel deployed bulldozers to pull down the structures at Khanapur in the Full Tank Level (FTL) of the reservoir across Musi River in Rangareddy district.

Police made tight security arrangements to deal with any resistance. The demolition drive led to an argument between the officials and the owners of the buildings.

Meanwhile, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) has also separately taken up a demolition drive in the same area. Employees of Revenue and Hyderabad Water Works were also taking part in the drive amid tight security.

HYDRA commissioner A. V. Ranganath ordered the action following complaints that several buildings including apartments and commercial structures had come up in the FTL and buffer zone in violation of environmental norms.

The newly-created body headed by the IPS officer has taken up the demolition of illegal structures at various places in and around the city to save lakes.

On August 10, HYDRA demolished illegal structures on heritage lake Bum-Rukn-Ud-Dowla in Shastripuram.

Several buildings had come up in the Full Tank Level (FTL) of the 18th-century lake and the heritage and environment activists have long been demanding action to save the lake. HYDRA recovered over 10 acres of land related to Bum-Rukn-ud-Dowla Lake FTL.

It earlier demolished 52 illegal structures in the FTL of another water body in Devender Nagar.

Ranganath had said that HYDRA will act firmly against land grabbers, and builders violating norms and encroaching on lake lands.

He said that HYDRA, which has been allocated a budget of Rs 200 crore by the state government, will soon be setting up a police station to speed up cases relating to encroachments.

The HYDRA commissioner stated that the government is promoting real estate but it hasn’t given permission to construct residential buildings around water bodies or by encroaching depleted lakes.

Recently, the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) revealed that the extent of lakes in Hyderabad reduced by 61 per cent between 1979 and 2024.