Special drive rolled out to boost rainwater harvesting

•Citizens advised against disposing wastewater into manholes.

•Over 51% of surveyed homes lack rainwater harvesting pits

•Defaulters face double charges on tanker deliveries from 2025

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad water board has constructed rain water harvesting pits in the houses being built in 300 square yards or above. In this regard, Telangana Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar launched a 90-day special drive ‘Prathi Intlo Inkudu Gunta’ programme on Wednesday.

According to HMWSSB officials, this special drive will be conducted from December 31. During this special drive, the condition and capacity of underground drainage pipelines will be assessed. If needed, their capacity will be enhanced, outdated pipelines will be replaced, manholes will be identified, and permanent solutions will be implemented. Specialised sewerage teams equipped with air technology are deployed daily to operate at the field level. These works will be monitored through GPS tracking. Later, Minister Ponnam Prabhakar flagged off the special drive campaign chariot.

The Minister said that rainwater should not be wasted and should be reused. For this, people should construct pits on their premises. It is mentioned that these should be built in empty places to avoid water droughts in the future. He later urged citizens not to dispose of wastewater into manholes in the city to prevent obstructing sewage flow and encouraged everyone to take responsibility for this issue.

Ashok Reddy, managing director, HMWSSB, said, “This programme has been designed to make Hyderabad a sewerage overflow-free city. This drive’s main focus will be on the prevention of long-standing sewerage problems and the construction of water harvesting pits. To reduce the demand of water tankers, consumers are advised to construct boreholes in their premises.”

Earlier, HMWSSB conducted a survey and found that more than 51 per cent of 25,578 houses do not have rain water harvesting pits. The board plans to send advisory letters to consumers who depend solely on water tankers for their daily needs, using their Customer Account Numbers (CANs) and past booking history. These letters will encourage them to construct a rainwater harvesting pit or repair existing ones. Surveys revealed that many pits were either in poor condition or closed for vehicle parking. Starting January 2025, defaulters will face double charges on water tanker deliveries, increasing the fee from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000, according to a senior officer at HMWSSB.