Hyderabad: Residents worried over rerun of nightmarish floods in 2020

HYDERABAD: Notwithstanding the last year’s floods which exposed the city’s urban infrastructure, development and maintenance of drains, which is crucial for preventing floods, is progressing at a snail’s pace. With hardly any time left for the monsoon to arrive, residents are worried about a rerun of the 2020 flood situation.
In Toli Chowki’s Nadeem Colony, which bore the brunt of all the major floods in recent years — 2000, 2008 and 2020 — residents continue to live amidst overflowing drains, choked outlet channels, blatant dumping of debris and narrowing of inlet and outlet channels due to rampant constructions and encroachments.

Mohammed Iqbal (57), a resident of the colony, said: “In October last year, the rains increased water level in the inlet nalas and Shah Hatim talab (lake) as the entire water from the upstream flowed down here. Our houses got flooded as the water rose to the ceiling, almost 10-12 ft high, causing massive destruction. With intermittent rains in the last few days, the drains in the area are once again overflowing.”
Keeping in mind the destructive floods of last year, the residents expected the authorities to take stringent measures to avoid flooding. “While the nala desilting work is happening at a snail’s pace, the civic body is lagging behind in executing the stormwater drain project,” said Iqbal.
A few kilometers away, in Baba Nagar’s B-block, Intermediate student Fatima Sultana said: “My family had to spend three days on the terrace after the entire house was submerged in water last year.”
SNDP chief engineer C Vasantha said, “Although we are heading towards monsoon, it will take some time since we have to do the technical study, estimation, procurement of material, etc, for implementation of the project.”