HYDERABAD: Residents of various colonies in Malkajgiri area are suffering due to inundation of their houses, building cellars and streets purely due to lack of sound urban planning over the years. Banda Cheruvu, which receives flood water from Safilguda and Ramakrishnapuram lakes, started overflowing due to heavy rains from Wednesday evening. By around 7pm water from Banda Cheruvu started flowing into areas as far as 3-4 kilometers away from lake.
In a few hours buildings were in 2-3 feet deep water. Negligence by urban development bodies over the years has emerged as the reason behind flooding. Water from Banda Cheruvu which flooded various colonies in Malkajgiri flows through one particular point, where once granite hillocks existed. These hillocks were blasted for quarrying granite more than a decade ago by a local politician. A portion of an hillock which had blocked water from the lake flowing downhill was also blasted, allegedly by those who encroached lake on other sides.
It is from this gap the excess water from lake flows downhill. Usually excess water from lake floods the granite blasted area and stagnates there, but this time due to heavy rainfall water flowed further and caused flood. Still, flooding could have been managed if excess water was channelised. The first area which got inundated due to flooding was NMDC Colony, in spite of having a storm water drain. Mohan Rao, a resident of NMDC Colony said, “Storm water drain in Anantha Saraswathi Nagar, located adjacent to our colony and on a much lower slope, has been partially blocked. As a result, most of the flood water from lake flows into NMDC Colony as we have a wide storm water drain. However, there is one street in our colony which has no storm water drain.
This street got flooded with lake water and flood water from here entered our street and flooded some of the houses. There exists also a sluice at one end of the lake opposite to A S Nagar which was jammed long back. Instead of looking into these issues, GHMC wants to demolish our houses and widen the storm-water drain in our street.” S Anil, another resident of NMDC Colony said, “We have given written complaints regarding these issues to GHMC local head, Commissioner, Corporator and MLA of our area, MP of Malkajgiri and to Minister for Urban Development, KT Rama Rao. Nothing was done and we are suffering now.” Another major loophole by the GHMC is that the storm water drain which is about six feet wide in NMDC Colony becomes narrow by almost half as it reaches the other side of road and gets much narrower further. As a result, the narrow storm water drain could not contain huge inflow from Banda Cheruvu and caused flooding in areas ahead like NMDC Colony street-2, Pittal Basti and Patel Nagar.
Six stranded in Bhimeshwara temple rescued by fishermen Yadadri Bhuvanagiri:
Heavy rains that lashed Hyderabad brought flash floods to river Musi which left six persons stranded atop a temple for more than six hours before being rescued on Thursday. As the rains in the state capital intensified, river Musi started receiving heavy inflows. Meanwhile, six persons went to offer prayers at the Lord Shiva temple, Bhimeshwara Swamy temple near Bollepally, situated right in the middle of the downstream of Bimalingam vaagu.
In the morning, the six went through the stream to reach the temple but within hours, the waters levels rose abnormally and surrounded the temple from all sides. The six persons then climbed atop the temple and sought help from their friends over phone. Police and rescue officials rushed to the place and the National Disaster Response Force personnel were also asked for taking up rescue operations. However, the local fishermen then went to the temple in boats and brought the six of them to safety