‘Apathy’, ‘tired’ ‘rhetoric’ are some of the words residents of Hyderabad’s East Anandbagh use to describe their plight. After a heavy spell of rain in the city on Tuesday evening, the nala in East Anandbagh, Malkajgiri started to overflow yet again flooding the entire stretch of road and the low-lying areas of NMDC Colony.
At least six streets in the colony are water-logged, affecting the daily life of the residents. School going children and locals are struggling to waddle through the water. However, these residents are accustomed to it. For almost three years, they have been facing the same issue during the monsoon.
The nala from Ramakrishnapuram passing through NMDC Colony overflows during heavy rains, flooding the colony.
Lamenting about their situation, JLN Murthy, a resident of NMDC Colony, said, “We are just tired of everything. It is a yearly spectacle for politicians who come here to take photos, make some rhetorical statements about changing the situation and disappear. There have been no concrete steps to ensure that the flooding doesn’t recur.”
“Water entered our house up to 3 meters, and my 80-year-old father who cannot climb upstairs had to sleep on the ground floor despite water under his cot. It is unfortunate that things haven’t changed at all,” Murthy bemoaned.
Another resident, Swathi, said, “It keeps recurring, each time we have to worry during the monsoon.”
This time, drainage water entered Swathi’s residence. “We are really helpless. Who can help us out from this misery. There is a risk of disease outbreak because of the filth which has entered the house,” she said.
Court case delaying nala widening
Murthy blames the politicians and the GHMC for not widening the nala, which is the reason for the regular flooding during monsoons. However, the GHMC too are helpless due to an ongoing case in the High Court.
The proposal for the widening of the nala was made in 2016. The GHMC also conducted a study and decided that the nala should be widened by 12 feet. However, the matter couldn’t go further owing to a civil dispute between people living adjacent to the nala and the municipal authorities, as the GHMC would have to demolish a few structures to widen the nala. While it is alleged that the residents have occupied government land to construct their houses, the residents claim otherwise.
“There are four court cases in this regard. We have asked these residents to show their documents, but they refused and approached the court. If the land rightfully belongs to them, we will compensate them for their loss under the Land Acquisition Act, but they are not coming forward,” said GHMC Malkajgiri Deputy Commissioner, K Venugopal.
Speaking about the present crisis, he said, “Despite heavy rainfall, because of the cleaning and silting works in the nalas before the monsoon, the drains didn’t get clogged up and the water is receding at a fast pace.”
The Deputy Commissioner further added that they have deputed three GHMC staff teams to pump out the water and sanitise the area to prevent any outbreak of diseases.