Hyderabad: Four days on, several areas still deluged

Hyderabad: Dozens of colonies in Hyderabad and nearby areas remained inundated for the fourth consecutive day on Friday even as authorities scrambled to pump out floodwaters from waterlogged areas and provide relief to rain-hit people.

National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Disaster Response Force (DRF) of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) were carrying out rescue and relief operations with boats in the worst-affected areas. Though the skies remained clear for the second day, the water that gushed into residential colonies from breached or overflowing lakes and drains following torrential rains and flash flood on October 13 night is yet to be drained out. Colonies near Pedda Cheruvu Lake in Ramanthapur, Uppal, Saroornagar, Hayat Nagar and near Palle Cheruvu lake in Mailardevpally continued to be waterlogged. A similar situation prevailed in BS Maktha in front of the Raj Bhavan and CIB Colony in Khairatabad in the city's heart. In a few places, underground areas of apartment buildings remained submerged. People residing on the upper floors are still waiting for relief.

Residents in the inundated colonies rued that they had lost everything in the flood. "We have lost everything to these rains. All our household goods have either been washed away or completely damaged. Children have lost their education certificates," a woman said in Sai Chitra Nagar Colony in Ramanthapur. The residents blamed poor drainage and lack of coordination among government departments and contractors for the waterlogging. GHMC officials began relief works in areas abutting the lake in Chaderghat and Moosarambagh.