Dreaming in color: efforts of Dr. Prakasham Tata to clean up a lake in Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh

This article by Dr. Prakasham Tata traces the author’s childhood dream of doing something to improve public health in Vizianagaram by ameliorating the conditions of Pedda Cheruvu and to provide a better environment around its historical centers, namely the fort, music college, clock tower, arts and science college, and the park housing the tombs of the maharajas. 

The author states how his thought has indeed proven to be true in the case of the construction of a wastewater treatment system in Vizianagaram, perhaps one of its kind in Andhra Pradesh. 

As long as this system is maintained and operated properly by the municipal administration, it should yield an effluent that meets the irrigation water quality standards, eliminate odors, mosquitoes, and pathogens, and provide an aesthetically pleasing environment for recreational activities in and around this precious waterbody. The stabilized biosolids deposited at the bottom of the first pond of each treatment train can be harvested every ten years and used as an icle by excellent fertilizer and soil conditioner.

The author hopes that the waste stabilization pond system will be operated and maintained properly by the municipal administration of Vizianagaram, and the occurrence of elephantiasis and other waterborne diseases will be eradicated.