City falls apart with just few hours of rain

Water from sewage line flows into houses in some areas; flooding not just causes discomfort to people but causes economic losses as well. Many vehicles get stuck in 2-3 feet deep water. GHMC distributes around 6,000 food packets in inundated areas.

HYDERABAD: Heavy rainfalls lashed Hyderabad on Monday, exposing yet again the pathetic condition of urban planning in the city for which the urban development authorities are complacent. It was just two weeks ago that heavy rains wrecked havoc by causing flooding in pockets of Malkajgiri.
A few hours of rainfall left the city reeling as many areas got inundated leaving people marooned with their houses flooded with water up to 2-3 feet deep.

IN PICS |  Hyderabad rains: Few hours of heavy rains flood the city

The flooding not just caused discomfort to people but caused them economic losses as well, as the goods in their houses got drenched in water. A viral video shot in Nandi Muslaiguda area of Kishanbagh, exemplified the sad state of affairs as children could be seen diving into water accumulated in their street and swimming.

BHEL Colony in Rasoolpura is one such residential area where houses got flooded as the rains exposed incompetence of Secunderabad Cantonment Board in taking preventive measures. Pawan Sanghi, a resident, said, “A nearby drain got flooded and the water entered our house, flooding our house with two feet deep water. This is not the first time as the same problem had happened two weeks ago when East Anandbagh had got flooded. However, the SCB did not take any measure. Power cut for three hours made it even more difficult for us to take measures against the flooding.” Mohammad Yousuf of Mallepally said, “Every time there is intense rainfall our area gets flooded. The drains in our area are incapable of managing the water due to heavy rainfall but no action is taken by GHMC. Our cot, refrigerator and washing machine drenched in three- feet deep water.”

Hanumanth Rao of Patel Nagar in Malkajgiri which had got flooded two weeks back due to heavy rains said, “This time water from sewage line overflowed into some of the houses in our area after the rains. It was just two days ago that people from my area had requested the GHMC to clean the sewage lines so that such an incident does not occur.”Inundation of houses and even commercial establishments like electronic showrooms was reported from various other areas in the city like Bahadurpura, Amberpet, Nampally, Himayatnagar, Mehdipatnam and Ameerpet. Wherever the houses were located on a downward slope in the city they got flooded, thanks to poor storm water drainage network.

CM, KTR and GHMC Commissioner review situation

MA&UD minister KT Rama Rao said that officials of various government departments, including the police and GHMC officials started working to tackle the problems due to heavy rainfall according to instructions given by chief minister who reviewed the situation in city. GHMC Commissioner, B Janardhan Reddy said that control rooms set by GHMC will continue to monitor relief operations. GHMC distributed around 6,000 food packets in  flooded areas.

Rainfall woes

Complaints received by GHMC till 10 p.m, Monday :

Tree fallen - 19
Electric pole fell down - 271
Open nala overflow - 28
Drainage/manhole
overflow - 21
Manhole cover open - 92
Building under dilapidated condition - 12

Air passengers anxious
Flooding of roads and traffic jams made it worse for people who were on their way to airport and railway station as they got stuck on the roads. Some even took to Twitter requesting their airline to ensure help in boarding their flight.

Cab companies make a quick buck as people’s suffer
Private cab companies were the ones who made most out of the inundated roads and traffic jams as they charged a bomb for even short rides. Those who took to booking cabs during the rain were in for a rude shock as the rides were overpriced. For example, a ride from Somajiguda to Nizampet which usually costs `100-130 was priced at an unbelievable `500.

MMTS trains were cancelled
Following heavy rains, four MMTS trains were cancelled and other services were regulated. MMTS trains resumed services after 8 pm.