Friday, Sep 29, 2023

No more water woes in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: Women waiting wearily in long queues with pots for drinking water, or angry protests that stretched over days over water shortage are tales of yore in Hyderabad now.A series of proactive measures over the last seven years, with the State government providing a whopping Rs 13,129 crore to the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and […]

By Nabinder Bommala

Updated On - 12:49 AM, Sat - 23 October 21

No more water woes in Hyderabad — Several localities in the GHMC limits, including slums and the areas outside GHMC limits within the Outer Ring Road, have come a long way on supply of potable water.

Hyderabad: Women waiting wearily in long queues with pots for drinking water, or angry protests that stretched over days over water shortage are tales of yore in Hyderabad now.

A series of proactive measures over the last seven years, with the State government providing a whopping Rs 13,129 crore to the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) has seen drinking water shortage and protests over the same have become ‘once-upon-a-time’ stories in the capital.

The HMWS&SB built infrastructure for drinking water supply projects and took up several works to meet the water needs of future generations as well. The government recently sanctioned another Rs 3,866.21 crore to the Board for installing Sewage Treatment Plants too.

With the money sanctioned for drinking water supply projects, reservoirs were constructed, new pipelines were laid and existing pipeline networks were improved apart from several other works being taken up by HMWS&SB. Following this, localities in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) limits including slums and the areas outside GHMC limits within the Outer Ring Road (ORR) have come a long way, with water woes in most localities disappearing.

The changes were not possible overnight. The consistent efforts of the Board saw the supply being boosted in the Hyderabad Urban Agglomeration (HUA) limits gradually from 2014 to 2020, courtesy the Godavari Phase-I & Krishna Phase-III projects, Keshavpuram project for future requirements, Housing And Urban Development Corporation Limited (HUDCO) Project and the project taken up to strengthen water supply system in the old city. By 2021, besides increasing supply, the State government decided to completely change the shape of the drinking supply network as well as sewerage management networks in the HUA limits. As part of the exercise, eight projects at a cost of Rs 7,528.21 crore are being implemented.

The Sunkishala intake project being executed with Rs 1,450 crore, building water supply infrastructure for extended areas of ORR with Rs 1,200 crore, providing water supply to Singur and Kollur 2BHK housing society with Rs 285 crore and the project taken up to divert Godavari water to Manjira with Rs 430 crore are the major ones. With the remaining amount, the sewerage management network in HUA limits is being strengthened.