Hyderabad blues
The recent heavy rains in Hyderabad have shown up the gaps in planning by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation. It is evident that there is unplanned expansion of this great city, with many illegal constructions on numerous lake beds. As a resident and a member of a family that has lived here for three generations, we are well aware of how it used to be in the past — as a place surrounded by lakes and rock features. Most of these have gradually vanished due to greedy and thoughtless expansion. Nature is bound to retaliate.
T. Kailash Ditya,
Hyderabad
There could be a number of reasons behind the calamity in Hyderabad — climatic changes, improper storm water drainage, illegal constructions on river beds and catchment areas.
Urban flooding is becoming one of the biggest problems in the world. Since 2000, there have been extreme events in Ahmedabad, Delhi, Jamshedpur, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. The National Disaster Management Authority released a 190-page book with guidelines, called National Disaster Management Guidelines – Management of Urban Flooding, but the question is, how many are following it? There needs to be a proper stormwater drain system in all our cities.
Ravi Teja Kathuripalli,
Hyderabad
The visuals of floating cars and people in misery show the magnitude of devastation. City planning seems to have been forgotten and it is clear that there could be numerous violations.
Dr. D.V.G. Sankararao,
Nellimarla, Andhra Pradesh
Gentleman captain
Much respected John Reid was a legend of his times , as the iconic captain and all-rounder of the New Zealand team touring India in 1964-65 (‘Sport’ page — ‘In Brief’, “New Zealand great John Reid passes away”, October 15). The team had set itself high standards in the four tests it played. Having drawn the first three tests, the fourth was played at Feroz Shah Kotla, a four-day affair. India needed 70 runs to win on the last day (fourth day) in their second knock when overnight rain almost ruled out play. John Reid along with the ground staff helped drain the water and roll the ground — the picture was published in The Hindu. India won the Test and the series. This is not to be confused with a similar act by captain Graham Dowling, in 1969 in Hyderabad, who also worked with the ground staff to help drain the wicket of water. But the situation was different, in fact the opposite. The Kiwis were in a winning position on the last day. The groundsmen and curator saw to it that the match ended in a draw by going slow in draining the water. There were no match referees then. Today, such a thing cannot happen.
A.V. Narayanan,
Tiruchi, Tamil Nadu
