New park set to add beauty to Hyderabad's Hussain Sagar

Hyderabad, Sep 19 (IANS) A newly-developed park is set to add to the beauty of picturesque Hussin Sagar lake in the heart of Hyderabad.

Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) has developed the Lake Front Park on about 10 acres of land.

Telangana Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister K. T. Rama Rao on Tuesday posted some pictures of the new park next to Jalavihar along Necklace Road.

"Will be inaugurating the park in a few days. Hope you all will visit and enjoy the beautiful Boardwalk," posted KTR.

The Lake Front Park has a pivoted bridge protruding into the lake to enable visitors get to a point. The HMDA has also provided walking tracks.

KTR lauded HMDA and asked it to make sure maintenance is taken care of going forward

The latest addition to the area comes a few months after Dr B. R. Ambedkar's 125-feet statue, new Secretariat complex and Telangana Martyrs’ Memorial added to the landscape of the famous lake.

The popular hangout place has got a major facelift  with the three new landmarks, which are attracting thousands of people every day.

While Buddha's statue in the lake has been the city's pride for over three decades, Ambedkar's bronze statue installed near the banks of the lake is proving an added attraction to tourists.

Now the park is set to add further glitter to the area which includes the historic Tank Bund road on the lake, which divides the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.

Hussain Sagar thanks to its strategic location and natural beauty and with boating facilities and surrounding parks, food joints and Imax theatre is the oldest and popular hangout place for citizens.

Hundreds of families spend their evenings or leisure time around the lake. The place bustles with tourists walking along the foreshore, taking a boat ride, clicking selfies at 'Love Hyderabad' sculpture, which was added a few years ago. Every day a large number of people throng Lumbini Park, NTR Garden, Sanjeevaiah Park, play games at People's Plaza and enjoy tasty food at Eat Street.

In 2016, the place added another attraction with the installation of 72 by 108 feet national flag on a 291-feet high flag post at Sanjeevaiah Park.

An artificial island, built of dredged sediments, is also taking shape adding another attraction to the lake.

It was in the 1980s that N. T. Rama Rao, the then Chief Minister of united Andhra Pradesh, had given a facelift to Hussain Sagar. He installed statues of 33 eminent Telugu personalities However, the move came under criticism from some environmentalists as this eat into the free space.

He also got 58-feet tall Buddha statue installed on the 'Rock of Gibraltar' in the middle of the lake. The statue was hewn out of a white granite rocket, weighing 450 tonnes, carved by 200 sculptors for two years, it was installed in 1992 on a red lotus pedestal.