Hyderabad has always been known as the city of lakes, most of which have been lost due to rapid urbanisation. With only 162 lakes left (which is a fraction of what originally existed), it is imperative to protect these lakes from pollution, encroachment and other threats. Live the Lakes is an initiative by Society for Advancement of Human Endeavour (SAHE), to connect communities to lakes and a serious effort to revive the surface waterbodies in our city. As a part of this initiative, they are conducting a major plantation drive at Regulagunta Lake near Chandanagar on Sunday, July 23, 2017.

Keeping in sync with the Telangana government's Haritha Haram initiative, this plantation drive aims to improve the ecosystem around the lake, as Viiveck Varma of SAHE explains, "We always aim for a comprehensive solution, instead of just a plantation drive where the saplings are forgotten about once the drive is over. We are going to plant specific saplings, that suit the ecosystem here and that will actually thrive and benefit the lake. After roping in experts, we have figured out what plants/trees that will be beneficial here."

 The solution, according to Mr. Viiveck, should be a comprehensive one taking into consideration all the factors involved. 

"There are a lot of people involved with the lakes, the community that lives nearby, the people who thrive on the lake like fishermen, etc. Loss of a lake affects them all and it is important to figure out and implement a comprehensive solution rather than just cleaning up the lake and forgetting about it later. We believe in involving all the concerned parties and also the government bodies like GHMC and HMDA, to ensure no further damage happens to the lake once it is cleaned," explains Viiveck, adding, "For instance, if a lake has chemical affluents dumped into it, we go to the concerned industry/factory and help them find an alternate solution for dumping their waste. There's no point in blaming someone or pointing fingers. We want the community to be a part of the solution and that is why we are doing this drive."

They also address problems like encroachment of lakes and assist the government with the necessary research and information. Roping in architects and geologists and mapping the current scenario and comparing it to the digitised maps that the government has, they help the government understand the issues and assist the government in coming up with solutions for encroachment. 

stuMagz is proud to announce that we are the student outreach partner for this much-needed initiative. To participate in this event and for more info, click here.
https://www.facebook.com/events/322508761529793/
The event is on July 23,2017 and the reporting time is 7:30 A.M