Hyderabad: Stressing the need to cleanse the Musi river, contaminated by industrial pollutants and sewage discharge, Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Saturday, March 28, vowed to complete the river rejuvenation project and to build a grand temple, mosque, church and Sikh shrines as part of the project.
Speaking after performing ‘bhumi puja’ for the reconstruction of Omkareshwara and Machileshwara (Shiva) temples on the banks of Musi river at Manchirevula here, he said the state government would do ‘Shiva Thandavam’ (meaning taking tough measures) if anyone spreads false information about the project and attributes wrong motives to it.
Besides the grand Shiva temple complex, the government would build a mosque near Charminar, a Sikh shrine with the inspiration of golden temple at Gowliguda where Sikhs live in large numbers and a church at Nagole, he said.
All these places of worship would come up on the banks of Musi in Hyderabad, he said.
Taking a veiled dig at BRS, he said the opposition party should stop attempts to create hurdles for the Musi rejuvenation programme.
“Its (Musi) cleansing is needed more than essential daily items. The contaminants from industries and the impurities discharged by one crore people (living in Hyderabad) are merging with Musi. Not just that. If humans and animals die accidentally, the animal carcasses and human dead bodies, industrial pollution and the entire drainage system of the region are making their way to Musi,” he said.
The pollution in Musi made agricultural produce in Nalgonda district, neighbouring Hyderabad, unfit for human consumption and also affected the health of newborn babies, he said.
Every MLA, cutting across party lines, and other public representatives in Hyderabad and Nalgonda districts favoured cleaning the Musi river, Reddy said.
However, some with political motives are opposing the Musi project as they could not take up Musi rejuvenation during their tenure in power, he said.
In an apparent reference to BRS MLA P Sabita Indra Reddy, he said the son of a “sister” has filed a case in the National Green Tribunal (NGT) seeking a halt to the Musi development works.
The family of the “sister” had enjoyed power for 40 years, he said, urging that she should make her son withdraw the case in the NGT. Otherwise, people of the region would impose “social boycott” on the family, he said.
Reddy also said the government has taken up work to transfer 20 TMC of water from the Godavari river to Hyderabad to ensure that water is available in Musi throughout the year.
Highlighting that civilisation always developed on the banks of rivers and oceans, Reddy said Delhi is an example of the adverse impact of pollution.
Though Delhi is home to the President, Prime Minister, parliament and Supreme Court, a situation of government declaring holidays to schools and offices prevails in the National Capital due to pollution, he said.
The pollution in Delhi is an example for Telangana to take corrective measures, he added.
