Dear readers,

In her ode to Hyderabad, the city of her birth and growing up years, the celebrated poet and politician Dr Sarojini Naidu wrote these lines about the Musi:

See the white river that flashes and scintillates, 

Curved like a tusk from the mouth of the city-gates…

The Musi has not scintillated anyone in Hyderabad for years now. The reasons are the same as in most cities of India shaped by rivers – the waters thin into a trickle, the river is reduced to the city’s drain for its waste, the floodplain areas are occupied legally and illegally, there’s apathy and neglect from various quarters. Those who think about the Musi speak of its glorious past or advocate engineering solutions for its ailments. What remains of the connection between the river and the city, how can this interconnection be revived, what would Hyderabad be if the river were made its centrepiece rather than an afterthought in its development plan are some of the themes that  Question of Cities puts the spotlight on in this edition.

The Musi, the pride of the city during the Nizam era, is a channel of filth, its banks encroached upon, its waters carrying untreated waste and industrial effluents, and its edges subjected to construction in the name of riverfront development. It’s the same old story but the Musi can be re-envisioned. If the river was placed at the heart of planning and development, determining how the city is built or rebuilt, it would be a different Musi. River-led city-making is the call Hyderabad must consider, argue QoC Founding Editor Smruti Koppikar and Associate Editor Shobha Surin in the lead essay. Read it here.

The Musi could have been the defining characteristic of Hyderabad, the cyber city, as it was in history when it filled over 3,000 lakes, had 22 flood diversion channels, 14 public parks, and places of learning and social life along its course. But all this was lost when the authorities isolated water management from urban planning. “This is the fundamental flaw. Cities and rivers are co-existing systems…but we treat rivers as inert material,” says Dr BV Subba Rao, veteran geo-hydrologist, in this interview, while decrying contemporary riverfront development. Read it here.

The story of the Musi is woven with that of the city, writes Hyderabad-based architect, researcher, and founder of The Deccan Archive, Mohammed Sibghatullah Khan. It, historically, had a riverfront with grand palaces, shamshaan ghats, Sati mounds, dhobi ghats, slums, and held immense cultural and historical significance. Bathukamma, the flower festival, was celebrated along its banks and Muharram processions culminated in the river. The industrialisation and urbanisation of Hyderabad has taken its toll but despite its pollution, the Musi is remembered as the river that made the city possible. Its restoration is, therefore, not only an environmental project but a heritage endeavour. Read it here.

Once a lifeline of the city of Hyderabad, the Musi was home to thousands of people – mostly economically backward — living along its banks. The increasing pollution threatened their well-being; the demolitions, their very existence. While the unauthorised constructions must be done away with, there are critical questions of proper procedure and rehabilitation before the demolitions. As the ambitious Rs 1.5 lakh crore Musi Riverfront Development project takes shape around them, people wonder why they do not count. QoC’s Shobha Surin brings voices of some people living along the Musi. Read it here.

After the great flood of 1908, the Musi river underwent massive changes. Reservoirs were built, a corridor of farms and gardens enhanced the riverfront and also regulated floods. Over the years, Musi was reduced to a dirty filthy drain. And with the Telangana government launching the riverfront development project, the Musi floodplains would be concretised and commercialised. Know all about the Musi River’s journey in this Fact Sheet. Read it here.

In our regular section, News Digest, read about NGT backing the Great Nicobar Project; Homeless people removed ahead of Delhi’s AI Summit; Khejri Bachao Andolan calls off protest after govt announces tree protection law; Trump revokes key climate finding that tied greenhouse gases to climate change; and Southern Hemisphere battles record heatwaves and wildfires.

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Thank you
Team QoC 
February 20, 2026