Himayath Sagar brims with heavy inflows; gates may be opened

Hyderabad: Heavy rains lashing the city and surrounding areas in the last one week have resulted in the water bodies receiving copious inflows.

Most of the water bodies in and around the city have started to record a rise in the water levels with some even heading toward the full tank levels (FTL) on Sunday.

At Himayath Sagar, given the steady inflows and rising water levels, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB ) has been monitoring the situation closely. According to the officials, arrangements were being made to open the gates of the reservoir if there were more rains in the catchment areas.

On Sunday around 8 pm, the water level at Himayath Sagar was recorded at 1,762.25 feet against the FTL of 1,763.50 feet. The water body has been getting steady inflows for last couple of days and today afternoon, 1,388 cusecs was the recorded inflow.

The HMWSSB issues a red alert when the water level touches 1,762.75 feet and then opens the gates if the level goes up to 1,763 feet. The reservoir capacity is 2.97 TMC and by Sunday afternoon the water level reached 2.631 TMC.

In case the gates are opened, downstream areas of Bandlaguda, Sun City colony, Kismatpur and Budvel would be affected. “We have already alerted people in the low lying areas,” said a HMWSSB official monitoring the water levels. The gates of the reservoir were earlier opened twice after a decade in October 2020, when the city witnessed floods.

However, the other major water body – Osman Sagar did not receive much inflow in the last two days as per HMWSSB data. The water level at the reservoir was recorded as 1,784.60 feet against the FTL of 1,790 feet by Sunday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Hussain Sagar has been getting steady inflows following the heavy rains in the city.
On Sunday, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) officials were monitoring the inflows and updating the revenue and irrigation departments. Teams were pressed to clear the trash accumulated at the entry and outlet nalas around the lake to ensure free flow of water into the to maintain the inflow and outflow of water.