Hyderabad: Storm water drains across Hyderabad are flowing more freely as the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Assets Protection Agency (HYDRAA) presses ahead with a large-scale desilting drive that began on June 22. Officials said 1,570 truckloads of silt have been removed from nalas across the city between June 22 and July 11.
HYDRAA’s Monsoon Emergency Teams, working alongside Disaster Response Force (DRF) units, have carried out the desilting round the clock, clearing drains that had turned foul-smelling from years of accumulated waste. Besides the nalas, silt has also been cleared from manholes and culverts to prevent blockages during heavy rain. Officials said several colonies have reported smoother sewage flow as a result of the drive.
HYDRAA Commissioner AV Ranganath appealed to residents not to dump household waste into stormwater and sewage drains, saying such waste severely hampers rainwater flow and causes flooding in colonies and on roads whenever it rains. He urged people to use Swachh autos for door-to-door garbage collection or to dispose of waste in dustbins rather than in drains.
Ward-level teams have also taken up targeted desilting work at several points in the city. In Serilingampally, a JCB was used to open iron grating catch pits at the railway underbridge in Lingampally, from which accumulated plastic waste and silt were removed. In Chandanagar, a JCB and tipper cleared plastic and floating debris from the culvert at Shankarnagar. Desilting work was also carried out at the Udaynagar nala in Banjara Hills and at the drain in Krishnanagar.
In Gachibowli, a JCB and tipper opened iron catch pits and cleared silt at Preston Prime Mall and at the railway underbridge in Lingampally, opposite HDFC Miyapur.
