Hussainsagar with the Buddha who toppled over a few years ago

On a recent work trip to Hyderabad, I planned to spend an extra evening to visit a dear cousin. And as I was looking at Google maps to instruct the taxi driver, I realized that they lived fairly close to Hussainsagar. This is the iconic landmark of Hyderabad and among the few memories I retain of the few weeks I spent in the city during the 1970s, when my parents lived there for a few years.
In those days the Tank Bandh, along the lake side was the main artery joining Hyderabad and Secunderabad. But the rest of the lake perimeter was undeveloped and just ?? jungle. In the subsequent decades, the city has grown all around the lake. A perimeter road runs all around the lake, predominantly the effort of Chandrababu Naidu during his charismatic first term as…