Hyderabad: Double whammy for house owners in flood-hit areas

Tenants vacate houses and move to safer areas, leaving them bereft of the rents, which for many was the main source of livelihood

Hyderabad: The misery for house owners in flood-affected areas of Hyderabad is not over yet. On the contrary, they are now facing new trials.

The damage to their houses apart, these house owners are now seeing their tenants vacating and moving over to safer areas, leaving them bereft of the rent which for many, was the main source of livelihood.

Unwilling to take any more risks, many families staying in rented portions in Al Jubail Colony, Hashamabad, Hafeez Baba Nagar and Omer Colony, which were severely affected by the floods, are now moving to places that are away from lakes and even nalas.

“We already lost our belongings in the flood. We are starting from scratch and cannot take the risk of staying in flood-prone colonies anymore,” says Aslam Khan, who works at a pharmacy in Phoolbagh. Khan lost most of his household articles in the floods that ravaged Al Jubail Colony.

Around 200 families have already moved out from these colonies in the last one week. Similar reports are coming in from other colonies that were inundated following the breach in the Gurram Cheruvu tank.

“House-owners also suffered huge losses. Vehicles were washed away, motor pumps were damaged and with the entire ground floor being underwater, we have to spend a fortune to get the house wiring rectified and the doors, windows and gates repaired,” laments Ehtesham Ali, the owner of an affected property in Hashim Nagar.

“I don’t think we will get tenants for at least another year,” says Minhaj Shareef, a retired government employee in Al Jubail Colony.

The house rents in Al Jubail Colony, for a 2BHK ranged between Rs 7,000 and Rs 9,000 a month while in the interiors of Hashamabad, Hashim Nagar and Kabgirnagar, it was a bit lesser. Rents are more or less the same in Omer Colony and Hafeez Baba Nagar.

“Several people constructed buildings with the sole purpose of renting them out to ensure a fixed income every month. The floods have shattered all their plans and deprived them of their livelihood,” says Shabbir Ahmed, a local leader at Hafeez Baba Nagar.

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