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Hyderabad: The merchant of death who minted money by selling polluted water drawn from the illegal borewells dug inside the Full-Tank Level (FTL) of Sunnam Cheruvu in Borabanda was arrested on Sunday night, June 29.

Madhapur police arrested Venkatesh, who has been running a syndicate of water tankers by digging borewells inside the lake, and supplying polluted water containing metals like cadmium and nickel to hostels and apartments in the nearby areas.

The police also seized lakhs from the shed built illegally by Venkatesh inside the FTL, where he allegedly organised alcohol parties for the locals for Rs 70,000.

Venkatesh was the same person who had enacted a suicide drama last year by dousing himself in petrol, when the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Assets Protection Agency (HYDRAA) officials had gone there to demolish illegal structures from the lake’s FTL.

HYDRAA had also sent the lake’s water to the Telangana Pollution Control Board (TGPCB) for analysis, which found the water heavily polluted. Consumption of that water could not only lead to heart, kidney and liver issues, but could also cause miscarriage in pregnant women.

The HYDRAA officials who began the lake’s restoration works found tens of borewells and pipelines used to draw water from there.

According to the statement of HYDRAA on Monday, June 30, plastic waste that had accumulated at a height of 2 metres inside the lake bed has been removed as part of the restoration effort. The sewage line polluting the lake has been diverted, and steps have been taken to ensure free flow of rainwater into the lake.

Further restoration efforts include laying a walking pathway across the bund, increasing greenery around the lake, setting up a children’s park and an open gym at the lake.

According to HYDRAA commissioner AV Ranganath, as per the toposheets of the Survey of India from 1970, Sunnam Cheruvu lake was spread across 26 acres. As per the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority’s (HMDA) preliminary notification of 2016, done after a survey, the area under the lake was mentioned as 32 acres.

“Clearly, the contention that the lake is just 15 acres is not correct. More so, the draft HUDA layout was also cancelled long back. For the past 10 years, the plot owners were unable to obtain any building permissions due to the plots being in FTL. “If the plot owners have any legal and valid claims, they can always approach the government for compensation/ transferable development rights (TDR). Without a proper claim, few plot owners cannot stop the lake rejuvenation works just because their interests are affected,” Ranganath stated.