Uprooted tree damaged a vehicle at Goshamaha

Incomplete desilting of stormwater drains and nalas, which is a mandatory job of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in the summer, has led to the streets being inundated.  A few internal colony roads in Malkajgiri, Yapral were inundated, with there being no channel to drain rainwater. With only a month left for the Southwest Monsoon, the condition of the city’s drainage system on Thursday, with only a few minutes of rains showed the GHMC’s unpreparedness. Principal Secretary, Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD) Arvind Kumar sent out an alert to GHMC staff to clear crucial water stagnation points.

An uprooted tree damaged a vehicle at Goshamahal.

Motorists had a tough time finding their way through stagnated rainwater, and two commuters fell into an open manhole under the Metro bridge at Ameerpet. Nala overflow was reported at Chikallguda, Akbarnagar, Chandrayangutta, Falaknuma, Rein Bazaar, Malakpet, M.J. Market, Nizam PG College and Goshamahal. At Vanasthalipuram, Three traffic cops pulled their act together and helped open a manhole cover, to allow free flow of rainwater.

Thursday evening’s sudden downpour saw waterlogging at Tank Bund. The government had issued a red alert for citizens not to venture out for three days as temperatures were expected to touch between 45°C and 48.5°C.  (Photo: P. Anil Kumar)

The knee-deeph water levels in Mallikarjunanagar in Malkajgiri caused immense hardship to residents, especially those returning from work. “The same episode of inundation was reported in 2017, and GHMC deputy commissioner Venugopal of Malkajgiri assured residents that the nala connecting the colony will be diverted and this will help divert the rainwater entering the colony. However a year has passed and no work has been taken out.

When enquired with the GHMC on desilting work for the city, an officer said, “During the previous years, tenders were called during summer and a deadline of June 15 was fixed to desilt the nalas. However in 2018, tenders were called for desilting for a period of one year, and this demands that contractors remove silt when ever accumulated. Currently only 40 per cent of the nalas have been desilted.”

Moderate spells of rain were reported in Alwal, areas of Secunderabad Cantonment Board, Malkajgiri, Uppal, Madhapur, Malakpet, Charminar and Saroornagar. Meanwhile, the unexpected showers Wednesday evening gave much-needed relief to residents from the scorching heat, and eventually brought down temperatures that were soaring over the past few days.