Hyderabad: Heavy rains in the city claimed the life of a 9-year-old girl, Mounika, in Secunderabad's Kalasiguda after she fell into an open manhole. The little girl was washed away and her body was recovered from a nala more than a kilometre away. Mounika stepped out of her home on Saturday morning with her younger brother, to buy a packet of milk. After her brother, who was differently-abled, slipped and fell, she tried to help him and fell into the hole.
The girl’s parents and locals blamed the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation officials for not closing the manholes or at least putting up a board/sign warning about such holes, even when the Indian Meteorological Department forecast heavy rainfall and sounded an alert, much in advance.
G Kishan Reddy, Union Minister for Tourism, Culture and Development of the North Eastern Region of India, is scheduled to visit the site where Mounika fell into the manhole.
Mounika's tragedy comes days after another girl lost her life while sleeping as a wall collapsed near her home and the asbestos roof came crashing on her.
Rains battered roads and led to traffic snarls in several areas across the city, making commute a nightmare for those who left home for their work. Several prominent junctions and even flyovers in the city turned into a deluge, including areas in Uppal, Tarnaka, Habsiguda, Basheerbagh, Banjara Hills, Himayathnagar, Nampally, Raidurg, Hitec City, etc.
The heavy downpour began at around 6.15 am at many areas in the city and left several low-lying localities in knee-deep water. Pedestrians and commuters had a tough time wading through the waters, causing traffic snarls at several places in the city.
To avoid trouble on the roads, some people took the Metro leading to a heavy rush that stations rarely saw on a Saturday morning.
Many places in the city that have construction and SNDP works in progress saw even more damage. Roads in Amberpet proved to be a real task to wade through because of the flyover construction. Commuters, especially those on two-wheelers, looked for different routes only to find traffic in all directions.
At Nallakunta, the nala work underway led to waters from various lanes flow into the lower-lying area. Several bikes were also washed away in the rainwater. Some cars and autos got stuck in the traffic snarl for a long time. Heavy rains and water logging created havoc in Padma Colony. Nearly 30 to 40 vehicles which were parked in front the houses in the colony were washed away. Later, two-wheelers which were drowned in River Musi have been recovered. Locals staged a protest against the GHMC's negligence that resulted in traffic jam in the area.
Two-wheelers washed away in Musi are being recovered
According to the Telangana State Development and Planning Society, Vittalvadi in Himayathnagar received a maximum of 77.8mm rainfall, followed by Khajaguda - 71mm, Prashanth Nagar 64mm, Musheerabad 63.5mm, Shaikpet 61.8 mm, Gunfoundry 61.5 mm, Monda Market - 57.8 mm. Though some areas received less rainfall, bad roads and leaking drainages led to waterlogging in these places.
