The unprecedented rains that Hyderabad received in October 2020 had wreaked havoc in the city. Several low-lying areas were inundated and it threw life out of gear. To prevent a repeat of what Hyderabad witnessed, the Telangana government has drawn out an elaborate plan to strengthen the existing stormwater drainage system in the city. The government sanction released on April 6 mentions that, “The government has carried out a detailed study of the existing storm water drainage system and has identified critical narrow points, encroachments on nalas, trunk mains, feeder nalas and all other issues”. The same was submitted as a detailed report for the works to be taken up.
The plan, which includes remodelling of drains, and construction of surplus weirs, has received administrative clearance for Rs 858 crore from the state government. It covers the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation and Hyderabad Urban Agglomeration (HUA). The move, which comes in the aftermath of the October 2020 flood, is aimed at preventing inundation of low-lying areas and to mitigate damages suffered due to heavy rains. The state government issued orders directing the officials to execute the works and ensure that inundation of low-lying areas do not recur.
The state government set up the Strategic Nala Development Programme (SNDP), to plan, develop and maintain a dedicated stormwater drainage infrastructure and 'nala' (drain) system in Hyderabad. To speed up the pace of work, the project has been split up into 15 different packages, with tenders to be floated shortly, officials said. In an annexure, the government has mentioned in detail all the works that will be carried out and the money that has been allotted for the same.
The heavy rains that lashed Hyderabad last year, for more than a week, had led to massive flooding of several low-lying areas, causing several hardships to around 40,000 families spread across the city.