HYDERABAD: It was in September that the first bout of heavy rainfall inundated Osman Nagar and nearby areas of Shaheen Nagar on the outskirts of Hyderabad.
For two months straight, the entire area was waterlogged, following which the administration took measures to allow the floodwaters to run off.
However, now into the last month of the year and four months since the Hyderabad floods, around 200 houses are still submerged in algae and sewage-ridden water.
The fate of those whose houses have been inundated for the last four months is gloomy. The waters have entered their low-lying houses weakening the foundations, damaging electronic appliances and furniture. Residents have been forced to shift to the places of their relatives though they continue to pay the rent of their inundated accommodation.
“We are soon stepping into 2021, but our houses are still under water. All of my furniture is damaged and electric appliances as well. Nobody is listening to our pleas,” Mohammed Amjad, a resident of Saif Colony, at a stone’s throw from Osman Nagar told Express. Like the others, he has been staying at a higher plane since the floods started in September.
A few weeks ago, the water finally receded from the house of Shaik Jaffer, a 52-year-old resident of Osman Nagar leaving behind a trail of destruction. “The entire wall of my house is cracked. It took us days to clean all the filth that the water had left behind. Who will compensate me for that,” he asked.
The receding waters have also increased the risk of water-borne diseases. There have been instances of many people reporting skin allergies, and questions are being raised on the government’s response to the worsening hygiene of the area.
Moin Baba, Sanitary Inspector of the Jalpally Municipality said, “We are taking up fumigation in the entire area, and we have cleaned a lot of the sewage that the floodwaters left behind. In the coming days, the entire area will be cleaned.”