Date:02/05/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/05/02/stories/2007050218380500.htm

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Underground aquarium in city soon

M.L. Melly Maitreyi

The first of its kind in the country, the project at Mir Alam Tank will resemble the Singapore facility

HYDERABAD: The decks have been cleared for a prestigious project of international standards in the old city.

A first of its kind underground aquarium in the country proposed at Mir Alam Tank by the Hyderabad Urban Development Authority but delayed due to land dispute would finally take shape. The aquarium to come up on the lines of the one in Singapore would be executed in Public Private Partnership model and tenders were being invited from reputed international agencies, HUDA Vice-Chairman Jayesh Ranjan told The Hindu .

The State-of-the-art recreational facility near Mir Alam Tank would be a major attraction to the city which boasts of Imax, Snow World.

The project would come up in the five acre Government land abutting the lake now that the dispute has been resolved amicably following the initiative taken by MP Asaduddin Owaisi and HUDA authorities. The Mir Alam Tank, restored and beautified by the HUDA with a STP and a drainage system to prevent untreated sewage from surrounding areas flowing into the lake under its Lake Restoration and Conservation Project was inaugurated by the Chief Minister in March. The underground aquarium as per the original plan should have been taken up along with lake restoration work but the proposal was delayed because of the land dispute. HUDA would also invite tenders for preparing the Master Plan for the newly extended area under its jurisdiction with 54 mandals in the five districts.

The master plan would have to be prepared by the selected agency in six months, HUDA VC said.