No respite from inundation, residents fume at ‘inept’ GHMC

HYDERABAD: The rainfall on Saturday night left residents of the south, east and west zones devastated as their belongings were damaged and there was knee-deep water in the neighborhood. Several colonies were struggling to clear the muddy water from their homes till late into Sunday.

Though the rain held off Sunday, areas like Nadeem Colony, Mehdipatnam,  MS Makta, Midhunanagar, Srinivasa Colony, Lingogiguda, Sriramnagar and Tapovan Colony continued to be under knee-level water. The excess rain water and the overflowing drains made life miserable for residents across localities.

Residents using water pumps, buckets and other utensils to clear water from their houses were a common sight in several colonies, including Krishnanagar, Bandlaguda, Tolichowki and Ramanthapur. Many residents from these colonies shifted to houses of relatives in other areas and returned to pick valuables. Most of these colonies are close to lakes which are in brimming.

"Our house has been submerged in rainwater for more than four days, and we are worried about its structural stability,” said Manda Tanoj, a resident of Nadeem Colony.

Those living in ground floors were badly affected by the inundation.

"Almost all the manholes in the area are overflowing and the water is yet to recede. It is very risky to move around because of the open manholes,” said Arepally Satyanarayana, pointing to an overflowing manhole at Moosapet. 

Even houses in the more affluent areas like Khairatabad, Jubilee Hills, Banjara Hills, Madhapur, Attapur, Hafeezpet, Miyapur, Gachibowli, Lingampally, Moosapet and Shaikpet, were inundated on Saturday night.

Residents in Moosapet , Bapunagar, Amberpet, Osmannagar, Nadeem Colony, MS Makta, Srinivasa Colony are worried about the spread of seasonal diseases. Beside this, many were left stranded at Metro Rail stations in Moosapet, Begumpet and Malakpet.

"We have been living in a constant state of fear. With IMD predicting heavy rainfall in the next two days, our trauma with water will keep continuing. We have less fear of inundation but more of seasonal diseases, particularly in the absence of help from authorities," said Syed Mohammad Anser of Nadeem Colony.

In spite of MA&UD minister K.T. Rama Rao's instructions no senior official or staff was seen at the inundated areas; neither was GHMC commissioner D.S. Lokesh Kumar nor mayor Gadwal R. Vijayalakshmi around.

The GHMC's command control informed that they had received over 1,000 complaints in the last 24 hours. They refused to say how many grievances were resolved and the extent of damage caused by rains and negligence of the civic body.