Hyderabad, March 10 -- Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy on Sunday formally opened the Bum-Rukh-ud-Dowla, a 256-year-old historic waterbody at Shivarampally in the old city of Hyderabad, for the public after a drive was undertook to restore the lake in the evening on the same day.

The restoration was carried out by the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA), a specialised agency created by the state government to reclaim public land and rejuvenate Hyderabad's rapidly shrinking water bodies in the city.

Inaugurating the lake campus, designed with landscaped gardens and a Persian-style welcoming arch, the chief minister said restored lakes should function not only as water storage systems but also as vibra...