WARANGAL: Though heavy rains might have triggered flash floods in several colonies under the tri-cities of Warangal, Hanamkonda and Kazipet, it has recently come to light that poor drainage system in these areas have also had something to add to it and make the situation worse.
When Express carried out an investigation into this, it was found that, over the years, several structures have come up illegally on several nalas under Bhadrakali and Weddepally tank in Greater Warangal Municipal Corporation (GWMC) limits.
As a result, most such nalas started overflowing once the rains gained momentum and inundated several houses, putting the denizens in dire straits. In this scenario, it won’t be an exaggeration to mention that the existing drainage system in the city limits has completely failed during the heavy rains that lashed the city.
Albeit being a major corporation with as many as 58 wards, the absence of a proper underground drainage system has affected the lives of people living in several areas during the recent rains that witnessed drainage water stagnation.In the wake of this, the GWMC decided to crack the whip on violators and remove all illegal constructions on nalas which recently bought bad reputation to one of the biggest cities in Telangana.
During an investigation conducted by this newspaper, it was found that nalas such as Waddepally, Nayeem Nagar, Bharakali, Bondivagu, Alankar, and Ranagampet have all been encroached by many violators. N Vishal, a resident of Sammaiah Nagar, told Express that all their belongings, including food materials, have been damaged after the floods inundated their house. He alleged that both the State government and GWMC failed to strategise a pre-monsoon action plan to ensure the safety of the denizens.“Water entered our houses at around 3am when we were all asleep. We had to spend the entire night on the terrace and that too when the heavy rain was battering our area,” Vishal told Express.
It maybe recalled that Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) Minister KT Rama Rao, who visited the flood-affected areas in the city recently, too had instructed the officials concerned to conduct a special drive to remove illegal structures on the nalas as they were causing inundation of low-lying areas. He had also announced the constitution of a special task force under the chairmanship of Waragal (Urban) Collector and told the media that the illegal structures would be removed in 45 days.
Meanwhile, the newly-constituted task force, comprising the collector, city police commissioner, GWMC commissioner, RDO, superintendent engineers of National Highways, Irrigation and Panchayat Raj departments, found as many as 415 illegal structures in the city limits, of which 117 were constructed illegally on nalas. As on Sunday, the task force has managed to demolish 18 of the 117 structures.