Kapra Lake gets a no-immersion order
HYDRAA says the 113-acre urban wetland needs protection; organisers say immersions will continue. The wider lake ban remains undocumented.
HYDRAA has reported a no-immersion order for Kapra Lake; the wider ban remains undocumented.
HYDRAA Commissioner A.V. Ranganath has ruled out Ganesh idol immersion at Hyderabad’s Kapra Lake in 2026, citing its importance as an “urban wetland and vital biodiversity habitat”, according to reports published on August 29 and 30. Kapra Lake covers about 113 acres and is being developed for floodwater retention, groundwater recharge, biodiversity conservation and bird habitats, the reports said.
HYDRAA has suggested the adjacent “baby pond” for smaller idols and asked organisers to make alternative arrangements for larger ones. The Bhagyanagar Ganesh Utsav Samithi was represented during Ranganath’s visit. But Samithi general secretary Ravi Nuthula Shashidhar said immersions would continue “as usual” in lakes and Vinayak Sagar, including Kapra, according to a September 1 report.
A wider claim that HYDRAA has barred immersion in several other rejuvenated lakes is not backed by an accessible official order in the available record. The agency has not publicly published, in the material reviewed, the alternative-site list, capacities or the written authority for the restriction. Kapra has a reported restriction; the rest currently have headlines doing more work than documents.