Telangana government to study Chennai, Mumbai to fight floods

Hyderabad: To protect the brand image of Hyderabad as the most happening city and IT Hub, the state government proposed to convert the biggest crisis into an opportunity by coming up with a proposal to see that the city does not face such disasters in future.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has asked the officials to study how Chennai and Mumbai, which often used to experience submergence due to rains, had worked out plans in waste management and fixing of existing storm water drains. Top officials told The Hans India that KCR spoke to his Tamil Nadu counterpart E K Palaniswami over phone and discussed the mechanism adopted to strengthen the storm water drainage system to reduce the damage due to floods during heavy rains.

The Prime Minister had earlier announced his intention to speak to the nation while inviting people to join him through his Twitter account.

It is said that the Prime Minister got disturbed with the visuals of people going about in the markets, workplaces and other areas without any precautions or following Covid-19 protocols and hence, decided to go live on the issue at this crucial juncture.

"India will soon cross the 10 crore test number, which has been a major asset in our fight against the pandemic. Our doctors, nurses and health workers have all served our massive population minutely. This is not the time to be careless," he said.

"We have tackled Covid to a large extent. Our recovery rate is among the highest in the world, the fatality rate is low. Out of every million, we have around 83 deaths. This, compared to other nations, which see around 600 deaths per million, is much better. Over 90 lakh beds are available for patients. 2,000 labs are working for Covid tests," said the Prime Minister.

"To give our lives some momentum, and to keep our homes running, we are slowly venturing out again. Festivals are also upon us, but we must not forget that while the lockdown may have ended, the virus hasn't. It is still very much a threat. The state that India is in right now, we should not let it go down. We must strive to improve it," said Modi. Modi said: "if you are careless, walking out without a mask, then you are putting yourself, your family, your children, the elderly in trouble. In Europe, America and other countries, the number of cases have seen a hike yet again after seeing a reduction. We should continue to be careful and not be callous until the vaccine of the virus is created."

Several versions of vaccines are being worked upon in India as well. Some of them are at an advanced stage. The government is also working to prepare the nation to ensure that the vaccine reaches every India as soon as possible:

Modi continued emphasizing on the social distancing factor: "2 gaz ki doori is essential," he said, asking people to continue using sanitizers and keep washing hands till one gets the vaccine.

"Chennai used to be one of the worst-affected cities due to heavy rains. Now, the state has developed a mechanism which included strengthening of the functioning of the local civic authorities to contain rain-related damage."

The biggest challenge before the TS government is to create a strong storm water drainage system so that water can receded in shortest possible time. A fool-proof flood plan is the need of the day. Over decades, successive governments had failed to prevent unbridled constructions on lake beds and had allowed haphazard urban planning which is now resulting in heavy flooding.

The Chief Minister is also of the opinion that some drastic measures need to be taken in the area of waste management. At present, the industrial waste and sewage is dumped into the lakes severely affecting the capacity of the lakes. Officials feel that this would mean drastic action against all encroachments on the water bodies. This can prove to be a major challenge for the administration, they feel. The government has already prepared a detailed report on illegal structures and encroachment of water bodies. All that it needs is to analyse it and work out an action plan.

The government will also look into the technical expertise adopted in Mumbai to safeguard people and their properties during heavy rains. This would mean sort of re-building the drainage system and create effective storm water system, officials add.

A team of officials headed by State Special Advisor Rajiv Sharma has been entrusted with the responsibility of study of rain water flood management adopted by world class cities like Tokyo, Beijing and other European countries. KCR is likely to announce a special action plan to contain rain related damages in Hyderabad soon so that it can create confidence among the citizens. This becomes necessary in the wake of the GHMC elections to be held soon.