TO 

HON’BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE OF TELANGANA

AND HIS COMPANION JUSTICES OF THE

HIGH  COURT OF HYDERABAD. 

The humble petition of the

Musi River Conservation.

MOST RESPECTFULLY Raghavendra Singh Chauhan

This is a petition to bring to your notice about the challenges we are facing by not conserving the Musi river in our place. The Musi river originates in the thick forests of Vikarabad district in Telangana, near Anantagiri Hills, parallel to another tribute of the river called Esa. From there, it makes its way to Hyderabad, passing through an over 50-km stretch of the present-day city, before merging with the Krishna River in the state's Nalgonda district. "We can say that the Musi, by virtue of originating and ending in the state itself, is a purely Telangana river," says Professor K Purushotham Reddy, a retired teacher who used to head the Department of Political Science in Osmania University, now a well-known activist.

These were the words of famous Urdu poet Amjad Hyderabad, in his poem ‘Qayamat-e-Soghra’, which was penned after he saw his entire family being washed away by the strong currents of the River Musi.The river was in spate after heavy rainfall on September 28, 1908, and had caused the death and destruction of a large part of Hyderabad. This later came to be known as the Great Musi Flood of 1908.Almost 110 years later, as one stands on any of the bridges in Hyderabad's old city area that were built over the river, it is hard to imagine that the water was once full of life and was full to the brim.Now, massive amounts of garbage and debris are strewn everywhere as a thin stream of visibly filthy water passes underneath.Like all civilizations, Hyderabad was established along the banks of a river, Musi in this case, which was the city's lifeline for centuries before it turned into the massive drain that it is today. 

The Telangana government has presently chalked out ambitious plans and has promised to restore the river to its former glory. This would mainly involve the restoration and beautification of the water body, which is easier said than done. As an individual, citizens should stop polluting Musi river by not throwing garbage. One should not wash clothes or animals in Musi river. We should stop tourism near Musi River for few months. Cleaning the Musi river once a month from communities and gathering people all over the city and take help to clean the river which  can result in the betterment of the Musi RIver. These are the few small steps which an individual can  make it by themselves.  We are seeking directions to concerned government authorities for removal of alleged encroachments on the banks of Musi river and over a lake bed in Pupillage village. Mostly paddy and green leafy vegetables are cultivated in the river’s downstream. Metallic waste in the Musi has contaminated even vegetables which are consumed by people living in surrounding areas including Hyderabad city. We are requesting the State government to take immediate action because pollution of Musi has led to contamination of close to one lakh acres of cultivable land located in the downstream of the river.

Thanking you