Hyderabad: GHMC gets ready for monsoon, prepared to prevent flooding

Hyderabad: While the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicts the onset of monsoon in Telangana on June 12 and also by observing the previous year's October 17 heavy rains followed by floods resulted in severe damage to low-lying areas in the city, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) is preparing labour to prevent water stagnant with deployment of as many as 139 personnel for 'Monsoon Emergency Team' in all six zones.

This year the corporation has announced its monsoon action plan with an expenditure of Rs 32.96 crores. The GHMC has taken up 38 works for the improvement of Storm Water Drainage System (SWS), development of surplus lakes, water bodies, and tanks under the Strategic Development Programme (SNDP).

In order to prevent and mitigate the consequence of flooding in the coming monsoon, the GHMC Commissioner has already taken up the first phase of works under which remodelling, widening, alignments, and desilting of nalas and lakes are being completed.

A higher official of GHMC said, "The city had experienced rains that caused intensive flooding of many low-lying areas in the previous year. This has affected about 40,000 families and is attributed to the deficiencies in the existing Storm Water Drainage (SWD) system, including encroachment in the natural flow of water which made it important to revamp the drainage system considering the exponential expansion of the city in recent decades."

The official further said that to prevent flooding in the coming monsoon a Strategic Nala Development Programme (SNDP), a dedicated project wing, has planned to develop and maintain comprehensive stormwater drainage. He also informed that 'Nala system in Hyderabad', an exclusive wing within GHMC has been created, with all overall objectives of mitigating the adversities on account of heavy rains or urban floods in the monsoon.

Moreover, in the previous year the wing had carried out a study of the existing Nala, stormwater drainage system and has identified critical narrow points, encroachments on Nalas, (Demolished), trunk mains, feeder nalas, and all other issued and submitted a detailed report to take up all works on mission mode. These include crucial works in peripheral ULBS, which are about to complete by this month.

The GHMC is soon going to complete drain works with a total amount of Rs 632.2 Crores sanctioned from the Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD) in all the six zones under GHMC. The zone-wise works include 12 in Secunderabad Zone with Rs 163 Crores, 3 in Kukatpally Zone with Rs 112 Crores, 10 in LB Nagar Zone with Rs 113.59 Crores, 5 in Khairtabad Zone with Rs 100.26 Crores, 4 in Charminar Zone with Rs 85.61 and 4 in Serilingampally Zone with Rs. 57.74.

The official informed that all the works are nearly completed and soon the GHMC is going to deploy the 'Monsoon Emergency Teams' in the city.Speaking about the emergency teams, the official said, "139 static labour teams in all six zones with the expenditure of Rs 32.96 Crores that include 128 mini mobile teams with 114 vehicles, 67 mobile emergency teams with 78 vehicles.

The official told that static labour includes two laborers to be deployed near the water stagnation points and catch pits to immediately resolve the stagnation, mini mobile monsoon emergency teams- each team will be consisting of four laborers with a vehicle (Tata jeep) with equipment such as raincoats, crowbars, spades, torches, dewatering pump sets, and the mobile team will be consisting of four labours with a DCM or tractor or trolly with the same equipment, the official added.