Residents of a house wade through their water-logged house in Kodandaram Nagar of Hyderabad's Dilsukhnagar. Photo; Anand Dharmana
Hyderabad: Almost a week after heavy rains lashed the city and flooded several areas, several colonies in different parts of the city are still struggling to rid the muddy water from their homes. Saving their valuables and pumping out water from the houses is a major task, costly and time-consuming too.
The scenes of residents using water pumps, buckets and other utensils to pump out water from their houses can be seen in several colonies–Saroornagar, Bandlaguda, Tolichowki and Ramanthapur to mention a few. Many of the residents in these affected colonies have shifted to homes of relatives in other areas and return to pick valuables from their homes wading through knee-deep water. Most of these colonies are close to lakes which are still full to the brim.
“Our house has been submerged in rainwater for a week now, and we are worried about the structural stability,” says Purushotham Rao, a resident of Kodandaram Nagar. While damage to property or possession was not high for those in the first and second floors, those living in ground floors were badly affected by the inundation.
“Almost all the manholes in the area are overflowing and the water is yet to recede. It is very risky to move around with the fear of snakes lurking in the water,” says Narayana Goud, pointing to an overflowing manhole on Street No 1 in Kodandaram Nagar.
After 10 days, water levels have dipped in Green Park colony, Tapovan colony and neighbouring areas on Friday and residents heaved a sigh of relief. “We are seeing the road after 10 days. It was horrible all these days,” says Ramesh, a resident of Green Park Colony. Apart from collecting valuables and pumping out the rainwater, residents in Baba Nagar near railway tracks, Bapu Nagar, Amberpet, Osman Nagar, Nadeem Colony are now worried about the spread of seasonal diseases.
“These are ideal conditions for mosquitoes to breed and the foul smell is unbearable. Not to mention the moss and filth stuck on the walls,” said Mallikarjun, a resident of Sai Chitra Nagar in Ramanthapur. The rainwater from Osmania University, which is on a higher level, usually floods the colony and has to be drained out towards Pragathi Nagar and beyond but this time, it is taking longer, he adds.
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