MAUD minister calls for expediting nala works

Hyderabad: Municipal Administration Minister KT Rama Rao on Wednesday directed the officials to see that no inconvenience was caused to people living in low-lying areas in Hyderabad and nearby municipalities by completing the nala development works before the start of monsoon season.

The Minister reviewed the relief measures to be taken up during the monsoon season in the Hyderabad Growth Corridor. The Minister said that the State government was actively taking up the works under the ambitious Strategic Nala Development Programme (SNDP) to overcome the plight of people, and asked the officials to complete these works before the start of the rainy season.

The SNDP has identified 60 works with an estimated cost of Rs 858 crore and 90 per cent of the 37 works were going on under Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation limits. The rest of the works would be taken up immediately after the completion of the tender process for surrounding municipalities to prevent flood flow through canals.

The Minister also directed the authorities to identify works which were not in the SNDP plan and take up works for avoiding flooding. He wanted the officials to monitor the works regularly and complete them quickly. He has also directed the officials to be vigilant and take precautionary measures and ensure no loss of lives or property. He wanted them to check the lakes in the city and identify the weak dams and sluices and take steps to complete the repairs to the dams before the monsoon season arrives.

The officials were suggested that in case of excess water in any of the lakes and ditches, the water should be diverted to lower areas and strict measures should be taken to avoid any trouble to people.