Techies in Hyderabad’s posh Gachibowli area were marooned earlier this week after one of the busiest junctions in the city flooded.
On October 2, roads had knee-level water which completely threw traffic out of gear. The situation was so bad before Care Hospital in Gachibowli, that people had to be rescued from their cars as the cars began floating. The Biodiversity junction was one of the worst affected roads.
The situation continued for the next three days, affecting motorists who commute to Hitech City, Gachibowli, Serilingampally and Tolichowki.
As the problem of water stagnation persisted, the Cyberabad Traffic police issued an advisory, asking motorists to avoid that road for at least three days until they could find an engineering solution.
Many citizens took to social media to outrage and complain about the basic lack of facilities in a ‘global city’.
However, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has since found out the reason for the flooding, and citizens are also to blame.
After working for nearly 30 hours, the GHMC has revealed that the real reason for the stagnation was nothing but citizen waste.
Speaking to TNM, GHMC West Zone Commissioner Harichandana Dasari said that the garbage thrown into the drains had blocked sewer pipes which made the water to stagnate for nearly two days.
“We can’t specifically blame any one person or a locality for this problem. Everyone should take responsibility for this crisis. Citizens should pay heed to the government’s appeal to reuse plastic and not to litter,” she said.
She further added that the GHMC engineers had to work day and night to free up the drain.
According to estimates of the GHMC, the city contributes to 400 tonnes of plastic garbage per year.
However, notwithstanding with the appeals of the GHMC, Lubna Sarwath, an environment conservation activist, said that GHMC should be squarely blamed for the crisis and not the citizens.
“The GHMC itself doesn’t follow the procedure of waste segregation. On several instances, they were caught for dumping garbage and debris in open areas. They should first lead by example and implement the system of waste segregation thoroughly. Every citizen will diligently follow and not litter if the GHMC effectively implements its anti-litter policy.”