Hyderabad
It’s already May and the monsoon season is just around the corner. Usually, Hyderabad has its first showers in June. But many citizens are dreading the arrival of monsoons, given the nightmarish experiences they had last year.
While the GHMC claimed to have spent Rs 67,000 crore on various developmental works, including the construction of flyovers, drains, etc., out of it, about Rs 1447 crore was utilized for preventing urban flooding. However, when there was a brief spell of rain on May 4, there was flooding in 71 areas causing concern among people in several low-lying areas and those in the vicinity of lakes.
However, with the Met department predicting heavy rains this season too, people are already prepping for tough days ahead. The GHMC has identified areas that suffer the most during the rainy season – Bahadurpura, Shastripuram, Chandrayanagutta, Hafez Baba Nagar, Yakutpura, Mecca Colony, Ganga Nagar, Goshamahal, MS Maqta, Anand Nagar, Malkajgiri, UBI Colony in Banjara Hills, Jubilee Hills, Rd No 2 and Rd No 10.
Following flash floods in 2020, the state government allocated Rs 858 crore to GHMC to develop and maintain stormwater drains and nalas. Works have also been taken up to divert rainwater into rejuvenated lakes so that there is no flooding due to clogging of nalas.a