HYDERABAD
Flood waters began to recede from the residential areas of Nadeem Colony fringing the Shah Hatim Talab as a large band of civic workers got to work on the other side of the water body. “The water entered our house and it has been like that from Saturday. The level has come down today and I am able to step out of the house without getting wet,” said Mohammed Shabbir on Monday evening. Mr. Shabbir lives with his family of five in a rented house abutting the lake.
The lake water has left behind a trail of sullage, trash and debris in the lanes where the water levels have dropped. Others are not so lucky as the water levels have stayed put. Even the embankment laid around the lake did not help as the water levels rose near Neeraj Colony in the same locality.
On the other side, on the Jamali Darwaza road, dozens of sanitary workers, crews manning cranes, earth movers and dumpers helped clear the pipeline channeling water from the lake into the Naya Qila lake. “The newer channel created through the moat got blocked we are letting the water flow through the channel into the Naya Qila. We removed refrigerator foam, washing machines and coolers from the channel and it took us six hours to clean the channel,” said Ramana, leading the crew of workers from Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation. Late in the evening, the civic body began installation of a grill under the bridge to stop trash from blocking the water channel.
The lake edge has become a dumping ground for domestic trash for the residents of the Golconda Fort and GHMC used earthmovers to remove the packed garbage. The sanitation workers with masks and gloves braved the overpowering organic stench to clear the road and picked up a row with a vehicle owner dumping offal on the side of the road.
Nadeem Colony, Neeraj Colony and MD Lines around the Shah Hatim Talab have become low rent destinations due to the annual flooding. “I pay a rent of Rs. 10,000 and I have one floor for my family. Anywhere else, I would have to pay Rs. 25,000 as rent. That’s why most of the families are living in rented houses here despite this trouble,” said a resident near Masjid-e-Habeeb in the area.
