Delay in drain works turn bane for East Anandbagh

HYDERABAD: Residents of East Anandbagh in Malkajgiri confront major trouble every time it rains, especially during the monsoon, due to inordinate delay in the construction works of a new drain.

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has taken up the construction of a nala one-and-a-half years ago, but the works are yet to be completed. According to locals, the nala works, despite providing relief, have aggravated the issue, making floods worse than before.

Earlier, about three feet of water used to enter their houses but with the nala works, water levels this time rose by a foot at least, said the residents. The road which is laid in front of their houses is nearly 2 feet to 3 feet above the floors of their houses, causing it flood during rains.

There are at least nearly 40 independent houses located in the Shirdinagar, Street 10 and 8. “People face so much loss due to the rain, especially since last year, because of the road that is constructed above the ground level of our houses. “My bed, television, refrigerator and most of the valuables were damaged in the flood. Sometimes there is so much water logging in the colony due to which nobody is able to even move out of the house or even use vehicles,” said K. Ravindra Nath, a retired railway employee and resident of Shirdinagar. The residents said they had been living in the area for over 30 years and put in their hard earned money to build their houses and suddenly there were drains built right in front of their houses.

“We are all middle class people. We purchase rice and other items in bulk which are now all spoiled because of the rainwater. We thought we would not have to worry this time as new nalas were being built. But it is creating more problems for us,” said another resident.

They said sometimes insects and snakes were also found in the houses, leading to panic.

However, GHMC Secunderabad Zonal Commissioner S. Srinivas Reddy said that the works were still in progress and no inundation would be faced by any of the Shirdinagar residents from next year. “We had already informed the residents to raise their houses to 2 feet to 3 feet above the ground level or else the road would come above the ground level of their houses.  As their properties were getting damaged, they approached the court and stopped the work. Later, local MLA took permission from the government and got the project started which did not create damage to any of their properties. Residents had already accepted the idea, only after which the work was begun. In Road Number 10 of Shirdinagar, the drain construction has shown good results. If the residents cooperate, the work will be completed smoothly, and they would not have to face any difficulties from next year,” said executive engineer R. Laxman.