More rains add to Hyderabad pain

Rains continued to lash Hyderabad and its outskirts on Tuesday, adding to the woes of people already battered by heavy downpour and flash floods twice last week. As witnessed several times during the last few days, the rains led to inundation of roads, affecting vehicular traffic.

Officials said some areas received rains on Monday night and again on Tuesday afternoon, though both the spells were not very intense. The continuing rains added to the problems of thousands of people reeling under one of the worst floods the city has seen in decades. The fresh spells lashed the city even as the rescue and relief operations were on in the worst-affected areas in the old city.

Hundreds of houses in Hafiz Baba Nagar and surrounding areas and in Bandlaguda, Mailardevpally, Nadeem Colony and several colonies on the outskirts are still under water. The Disaster Response Force (DRF) of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) continued to shift people from flood-hit areas to safe places. People hoping to return to their homes in the flooded areas may have to wait longer as the meteorological office has forecast more rains. "DRF teams are clearing stagnant water and tree falls in view of the heavy rains in the city. All the teams are alert and attending to emergency citizen assistance calls," GMHC's Director, Enforcement, Vigilance and Disaster Management, Viswajit Kampati.

Meanwhile, there were rumours of breach of Meerpet lake on the city outskirts but authorities sought to dispel them. Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar advised people to stay indoors in the wake of heavy rains in the city. The heavy rains and floods since October 13 have killed 33 people in Hyderabad and outskirts and caused extensive damage to houses and civic infrastructure.