Hyderabad: Overflowing reservoirs trigger flood threat in low-lying areas

Hyderabad: Threat of flood giving sleepless nights to the residents of low-lying areas who are very much vulnerable to get submerged as the historic twins reservoirs of Hyderabad - Osman Sagar, and Himayat Sagar and Hussain Sagar Lake have started overflowing and thousands of cusecs of water are being released into the Musi river.

Due to incessant rains, these three major tanks of the city have been filled up to its capacity on Saturday and receiving good inflows.

Due to heavy rains in the catchment areas of Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar in the past few days, the lakes have started overflowing, said an official from the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB).

According to the Water Board, with good inflows 6 gates of Osman Sagar lifted by HMWSSB up to 3 feet and 1,788 cusecs of being released into Musi River. While one gate of Himayat Sagar is also lifted.

The nearby low-lying areas have been put on high alert and were also asked to move to safer places. Meanwhile, 'Monsoon Emergency' teams of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) along with teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been asked to monitor the situation in catchment areas of river Musi.

Due to the incessant rains the Hussain Sagar Lake has started overflowing on Saturday. The heavy rains have increased the water inflows crossing its full tank level (FTL) 513.41 meters and water is overflowing at maximum water level of 513.70 meters.

Moreover, several tanks in the Hyderabad limits such as Moosapet, Badlaguda and Balapur are also on the verge of breach. GHMC and Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) have deployed special technical teams to monitor the water levels and to look after the safety of the tanks and lakes during the heavy rains.

There are around 400 families living in low-lying areas close to Musi in Malakpet such as Kamal Nagar, Shanker Nagar, Moosa Nagar, and Rasoolpura. "Due to the recent non-stop rains, and water reaching full tank level, the authorities have released the water from the reservoir which passes through the city Musi river. To avoid last year's circumstances, preparations have been made in safer areas to relocate the families if it rains heavily or sees water inundation," said Mohammed Saifuddin Shafi, an AIMIM party leader.

"They were asked to keep their commodities at the safer place at 1st floor and to carry essentials with them if relocating and the flow of water in the river is increasing day by day depending upon the situation people will be moved if water enters into the low-lying areas," said a GHMC official.