HYDERABAD: As heavy rains continued to lash Hyderabad on Thursday, it was a hellish time for residents in several low-lying areas in the city. For people living in Nadeem Colony of Toli Chowki, however, it is the same story on loop since 20 years. ‘’We had a sleepless night and haven’t eaten anything in 24 hours as our homes are inundated following the heavy rains. Not a single MP, MLA or Corporator or even an official has visited our area to check on us,” Hassan Ali of Nadeem Colony says.
Like Hassan, there are several others living in Nadeem Colony who faced a similar problem. Located close to the Shatam Tank, several houses in Nadeem Colony have been built in a prohibited area and residents say their misery has continued over two decades. Many stayed up all night, watching in alarm as the water level increased. Most houses were in knee-deep water and angry residents blamed civic authorities for lack of storm water drains.
They allege that the GHMC has not deployed pumps to flush out the water. ‘’Our household items like clothes, rice, pulses and other groceries are all spoilt. We are just helping ourselves by using collecting the flood water in utensils and throwing it outside,” Saleem Baig, another resident said. Software engineer Prashant Kumar, who works in Nanakramguda, says his car is stuck in water and he could not go to office. Wading through rainwater, he explains that the colony faces a tough time every monsoon because of poor drainage.
GHMC officials say that several settlements have come up over the last decade in prohibited zone. An estimated 20% of residents here are tenants who are employed in HiTec City, Nanakramguda and Madhapur. A report submitted by the AP Academy of Rural Development, Centre for Management of Environment and Disasters stated that an additional channel is required to drain water from the area.
No respite for M’nagar
Mahbubnagar: Incessant rains battered the erstwhile district on Thursday as well. Several low-lying areas in Wanaparthy, Mahbubnagar and Nagarkurnool districts inundated in the rains, causing inconvenience to the citizens. Due to heavy inflows, the officials concerned have opened 5 gates of Ramanpadu and eight gates of Sangambanda reservoirs
K’reddy sees crop damage
Kamareddy: According to Banswada RDO B Raja Goud, most local streams, like Lendi, are in spate and have inundated Madnoor, Jukkal and Bichkunda mandals and caused damage to standing crop in around 25 villages. As per preliminary assessment in these areas, standing crops in around 20,000 acres got damaged in the recent rains