Ecologist rue fast eroding common property resources in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: Punjagutta once had Singhara talaab, a lake that is non-existent today, thanks to concretisation, an ecologist noted. Water chestnut, an aquatic vegetable, is one among the several Common Property Resources of Hyderabad that are depleting at a rate faster than one would expect. For the uninitiated, CPRs are a community’s natural resource, where 'every member has the right of access and usage with specified obligations, without anybody having property rights over them' and they serve as food for birds, animals, which include minor forest products like fruits, nuts, fibre and medicinal plants. "Several changes have been observed in the city’s CPR, including the decline of tamarind, wine grapes, anab-e-shahi grapes, phalsa fruit, and local mulberries, among others," informed Rajashekar Tummala, a consulting ecologist for ecological studies and biodiversity conservation. Mathen Rajeev Mathew, Telangana State Board for Wildlife member and wildlife consultant Rajeev Mathen Mathew, seconded Rajshekar and named custard apple, Indian gooseberry, ber, amla, gangool, kweet and munjalu as some other CPRs that are slowly disappearing.