In rain hit Hyderabad, a lake spews sewage onto the streets

Though only a slight trickle continued on Friday afternoon, water was still gushing fast in the bylanes.

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Even as people drove over the R K Puram bridge near Neredmet crossroad in Secunderabad on Friday morning, many areas under the bridge were in troubled waters - quite literally.

The Ramakrishnapuram lake (RK Puram lake), which saw a gradual decline over the past decade, breached on Thursday following a week of heavy showers in the city.

To add to the woes of the local residents, the lake overflowed into an open sewer that ran parallel to it, before spilling onto the streets and inundating entire houses in the interior lanes of the Rythu Bazaar road.

Though only a slight trickle continued on Friday afternoon, water was still gushing fast in the bylanes, and residents were trying their best to divert the water to another area.

A local shopkeeper in the area said, "The water started entering the colony yesterday afternoon and we immediately called the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC). They only came today morning. By the time, the water was already knee deep."

Many residents used stones and soil to try and keep the water from entering their homes.

Another local resident rued, "If they would've come yesterday evening, the situation would not have gotten so bad. However, they said that they will help us in every way possible now."

A little before the area, two vehicles from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) stood waiting for orders.

Sudhakar, an NDRF personnel said "We were called by the GHMC after they came to know that houses in this area were getting inundated. Many people were saying that they had taken their important possessions and climbed on to the roof of the building."

"We will go in and judge the situation. Accordingly, we will deploy boats if necessary and move the people along with their important belongings to a nearby rehabilitation camp," he added.

A lake that badly needs restoration

Residents of areas surrounding the RK Puram lake have for years been demanding the restoration of the once fresh water lake now turned into a sewage dumping zone.

Every year as the lake fills with water during rains, it invariably inundates areas nearby with a dangerous mix of water and sewage.

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In rain hit Hyderabad, a lake spews sewage onto the streets

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