Sunday, July 22, 2012

More pain than relief as rain batters Hyderabad

HYDERABAD, July 22, 2012

A parched city's wait for a good spell of rain turned nightmarish, thanks to an inept civic administration.



Claiming nine lives, heavy rain since Friday threw life out of gear in the city and on suburbs. Nightmarish experiences unfolded for most as low lying areas got inundated and overflowing roads brought traffic to a crawl.



Starting as an incessant drizzle, the clouds opened up late yesterday evening and 18 cm rainfall was recorded till Saturday morning in the city. Cellars in apartments in several areas were flooded and many could not even take their vehicles out. Pumping motors were pressed into service at different places to empty the cellars. And those who could venture out were greeted with heavy traffic jams and a bumpy ride. Pockmarked roads with layers washed away and gravel pits gave scary moments for motorists who spent long hours to reach their destinations. The scene was the same whether it was Ameerpet, Kukatpally, Madhapur, Lakdi-ka-pul or Nallakunta.



At some places, Hyderabad which claims to be in the reckoning for the status of international standard city had the strange sight of vehicles including cars getting washed away. On the spinal road stretch near the MMTS station, after making a vain bid to course through the stagnant water, several vehicles were seen floating.



Distress calls



Affected citizens kept making distress calls to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) for help and according to officials, till today afternoon, 90 calls pertaining mainly to inundation and 20 calls on tree fall were received.



The situation was so grim at several places that the Chief Minsiter N. Kiran Kumar Reddy made an unscheduled visit to Nagamaiah Kunta and some localities near Khairatabad to get a first hand account of the situation.



The GHMC Commissioner, T. Krishna Babu maintained 78 inundation areas were identified and 56 extra vehicles with generators and other required paraphernalia were pressed into service. He also appealed to those living in dilapidated buildings to vacate voluntarily.



Despite all claims, the failure of civic administration in preparing for the season was glaring with the chaos that unveiled on the city streets. Very few could report to offices in time and the RTC buses ferrying the workforce at most places was seen caught in the traffic logjam.



In a bumper-to-bumper situation, the Kukatpally road was witness to what could be one of its worst traffic jams. The road from Domalguda to vegetable market remained under a sheet of water forcing vehicles to wade through precariously. Long line of vehicles remained stuck on the stretch at Model House, Punjagutta as clearing the inundation took long hours. The NIMS sub-station too was affected by the water logging as two feet water accumulated in it. The sub-station started operating only from Saturday evening after the water was drained out.



The roof of Niyazkhana at Bad-e-shahi Ashurkhana caved in and those living in dilapidated structures spent their time with worries. The Nampally railway quarters were inundated and same was the situation at several low lying areas such as Nagamaiah Kunta and Bathukamma Kunta. The situation was no different in the once walled parts of the old city. Heavy water logging was reported at Chandrayangutta, Bandlaguda and Syed Ali Chabuthra while residents at Basharathnagar and Lalithanagar watched in misery as water gushed into their dwellings and their belongings getting washed away. Incidents of wall collapse were also reported at Afzalsagar and Bibi-ka-Chasma.



At Mallepally, several houses were affected due to inundation and the Jamat-e-Islami Hind (AP Chapter) provided food packets to 200 families here. The district administration too swung into action and the District Collector, Natarajan Gulzar visited some affected areas .



While 18 houses were reported as severely damaged and another five partly, an enumeration of inundated houses was put at 3,626. According to information released by the district administration, 1,509 houses were inundated in Amberpet mandal, 695 houses in Charminar and 600 were reported in Musheerabad.



Water levels



Meanwhile, Osmansagar and Himayatsagar, the two principle reservoirs of the city, received good inflows. They have gained four-feet and one-feet water respectively. Water level in Osmansagar has increased from 1,769 feet the previous day to 1,773 feet now while in Himayatsgar the level has gone up from 1,746 feet to 1,747 feet. However, the inflows into Manjeera and Singur reservoirs have been marginal.


News From: http://www.7StarNews.com

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