Link all the 185 tanks in Hyderabad to prevent future floods: Experts

A comprehensive report with recommendations from the experts will be submitted to Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao and Municipal Administration Minister KT Rama Rao soon

Hyderabad: Engineers and irrigation experts have suggested for linking all the 185 tanks existing in Hyderabad using modern technology to divert flood flow and prevent inundation of low-lying areas in the city in future. They felt that restoration of nalas by removing encroachment will decongest the flow of flood water. A comprehensive report with recommendations from the experts will be submitted to Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao and Municipal Administration Minister KT Rama Rao soon.

Engineers and irrigation experts including academicians held a meeting on the recent rains and subsequent floods in Hyderabad city at a meeting convened by the Telangana State Planning Board and the Institute of Engineers (India)-Telangana chapter. They discussed the causes for the flash floods and solutions to prevent similar inundation in future.

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The speakers at the meeting strongly suggested for constitution of a high-level expert committee to conduct in-depth study of the calamity and make recommendations to find a permanent solution. They said flooding of Hyderabad in such large scale occurred more than 100 years ago when the city population was only four lakh and resulted in death of over 17,000 people. They pointed out that due to modern governance and technology, the death rate was reduced to maximum extent.

A study conducted by the Osmania University Civil Engineering department revealed that about 46 per cent of the submerged areas were flooded for the first time. It was observed that another 33 per cent areas were inundated for second or third time, while the remaining 21 per cent areas were submerged for multiple times in the past.

The irrigation experts suggested that the surplus water from Osmansagar and Himayatsagar should be linked to the Musi River catchment area by removing the encroachments and expanding the channels to release flood water downstream. They emphasised the need for a sewerage treament plant to treat drainage water being released into Musi River using latest technology. They said all major issues plaguing the city’s storm water drainage system can be easily resolved.

Telangana State Planning Board vice-chairman B Vinod Kumar, Institute of Engineers (India) State president G Rameshwar Rao, secretary Anjaiah, Irrigation projects Engineer-in-Chief Anil Kumar, Kalwakurthy Lift Irrigation retired chief engineer Sathireddy, NIT-Warangal former director PG Sastry, GHMC Superintendent Engineer (Lakes) Shekhar Reddy, Osmania University Civil Engineering department head Gopal Nayak, JNTU former vice-chancellor Saibaba Reddy, and other irrigation experts, academicians and engineers participated in the discussion.

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