Hyderabad: Dwellers near lakes stare at spectre of floods

Hyderabad: With monsoon rains are yet to hit the ground, and if as the metrological department believes that the downpour would be more harder this year, the already replete lakes around Himayath Sagar and Osman Sagar pose a great risk to the lives of people living around the water bodies who remain shuddered thinking about previous wrought.

Despite hot spell during the last three months - more specifically since the beginning of the month of May, the present storage capacity of the Himayath Sagar Lake remains standing at 1759.05 feet above bed level of 1690 feets that recorded on June 17. It was noted that during the last one week merely .10 feet absorption was recorded in the lake.

This could be ascertained by revisiting the statistics being recorded earlier this week when the water level was hovering at 1759.15 feet on June 10 depicting a depletion of just .10 feet during the last one week. Together during the last one month not atleast a foot of depletion was recorded in the lake capacity. Going with the storage level of 1759.70 feet recorded on 10th May last month it could easily be determined that not more than 0.65 feet of absorption was recorded during the last one month in Himayath Sagar.

Though the fluctuation in storage capacity is being recorded every four days due to heat waves, no significant impact was made on the storage capacity in the lake yet and the officials are attributing this to good rains during last and the present year.

Not much different is the situation of Osman Sagar Lake where the storage capacity is 1782.40 feet on June 17 making it again vulnerable for any eventual deluge that turned several areas of Narsingi, Manikonda and Bandlaguda Jagir into ponds after lifting the crest gates last year.

During the last one week a slightest depletion of just 0.2 feet was witnessed in the storage capacity. Though 1782.60 feet of water level was recorded on June 10 in the lake the same is stood at 1782.40 feet today leaving no much impact over the storage capacity. Last year on the unfaithful night of October 13 several lakes from Vikarabad district to Gurram Cheruvu Balaur in Hyderabad city developed breaches leaving a trail of destruction behind. The horrific deluge claimed several lives and damaged properties to an unproportionate level. In some areas the bodies that were flown away with the furious flood, have not yet been retrieved.

Later the official found that a total number of 14 water bodies in and around the city received breaches due to floods. Brahmana Kunta, Brahman Cheruvu, Appa Cheruvu, Palle Cheruvu, Mamidla Kunta, ErraKunta and Gurrum Cheruvu are among the water bodies where bunds are completely breached. Among them Most Brahmana Kunta, Brahman Cheruvu and Appa Cheruvu fall under Rajendranagar area while Palle Cheruvu shares the area boundaries with Bandlaguda of Chandrayangutta. Sensing the enormity the officials even open the crest gates of both Himaath sagar and Osman Sagar the next day to flush out the water through Musi River.

However, these lakes are still brimmed and posing a great risk to nearby residents. Even some of the lakes have received breaches again in recent rains that include Appa Cheruvu Lake of Gagan Pahad and have not yet been repaired by the irrigation officials.

People living around the lakes are still afraid of the prevailing situation as most of the lakes that received breaches last year and some in recent rains remain crammed and there is a great possibility of re-convulsing last year's episode if fresh rains begin to hit the ground hard.