Encroachments block drains

With a 390-km stretch of major drains and 169 water bodies encroached by 30,000 households, Hyderabad, touted as a world-class city, is choking in its own drain water. Incessant rain in the last 10 days has converted the city into a veritable swimming pool with shrunken drains and lakes breaching under heavy inflows and depositing water into colonies, shopping complexes and low-lying areas.

The storm water drains were meant to discharge runoff rain water into Musi River and Hussainsagar. However, the drains were choked with encroachments making them too narrow (up to 5 feet) at places and choking them completely in lower tank Bund, Kavadiguda and Domalguda. 

After the 2000 deluge, the GHMC embarked on removing 977 encroachments at a cost of Rs 200 crore. However, the implementation was delayed due to political compulsions.

Damage to roads
Pot holes that resemble craters have taken over the roads of Hyderabad and Secunderabad with torrential rain bashing the twin cities, resulting in damage to vehicles. Rain water coupled with water from breached tanks flooded Alawal, Nizampet, Malkajigiri, Qutubullapur areas and entered cellars  of hundreds of complexes, damaging more than 3,000 four-wheelers and around 10,000 motorbikes and scooters.

A real estimate can only be made after the flood water recedes. Similarly, the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation is also staring at extensive repairs to its fleet of modern and JnNURM buses, which could run into several crores.