PROJECT | The object of this Urban Design project is the Canal connecting the Hussain Sagar Dam to River Musi which has a length of 2km. Several years of

encroachment and waste dumping during festivals have polluted it to the extent that the area is being rendered inhospitable. A redevelopment proposal must consist of a long-term technical solution to clean and maintain the canal, and a design solution to repurpose it so it can benefit the residents living around it. 

CONTEXT | The Musi is the primary source of water in the State of Telangana. The Canal connecting the River to the Hussain Sagar Dam was initially inaugurated to

beautify the growing Urban Landscape in Nizam’s Hyderabad and as a reminder of the contribution of the Dam in regulating the flooding. However, in recent years it has suffered severe interventions such as flooding, construction works, waste-dumping and public works. Despite the government’s efforts at cleaning the canal, the situation has proven to get progressively worse.

PROGRAM | An elaborate study on the canal and its surroundings concluded in the understanding that reclaiming the waterbody is impractical in isolation. Secondly, all the research was evaluated to circle out four distinct issues plaguing the area, 

and the connection between them was established. A resolute design solution required a pragmatic as well as a theoretical proposal. This strategy organised the green, the aquatic element, the connections with the city and the programmatic redefinition of each region. As a result, the new canal simultaneously emerges in 4 separate divisions, each repurposed to improve its surroundings and the lives of the people immediately and remotely associated with it.

DESCRIPTION | The purification of the Canal is done as a part of the sustainable development project. Footover bridges are provided at required intervals, providing easy access for pedestrian crossings. Deck spaces are incorporated along with seating spaces, and stalls bordered by engaging viewpoints. Proposals are made for organic farming and recreational tracks.

Market spaces have been proposed to rectify the traffic congestion and haphazard development caused by the squatting of hawkers. These irregulated market spaces choke the streets by creating bottlenecks as they encroach onto the main roads and cause dead ends in local colonies. Market areas are designed keeping the family as the basic unit of the client base, therefore, encouraging safer public activity by curbing the movement of any anti-social elements in the vicinity.