It was a familiar tale of greed, official lethargy and collusion that has led to the midnight flash flood in Deepti Srinagar Colony. Standing near the boundary wall of Potlapally Pavitra complex, a resident pointed to the gushing filthy water from under an adjacent apartment.
“That is the sewerage nala which used to be 20-feet wide but now it is reduced to 5-feet.
The apartment complex is built on top of that nala . The water from that nala has flooded the whole area. The last time this area was flooded, that nala was widened but it isn’t enough. Instead of flowing straight, the nala zig-zags around apartment complexes and that is the reason this area is flooded,” he said.
In 2009, the same area witnessed a massive flooding when water from Hafeezpet lake overflowed.
“There were nearly six lakes upstream of this. The water from those lakes flows into Gangaram Cheruvu at this point. But this water channel has been blocked and the diverted water flows into small nala there. This is the reason the whole area is flooded. Plain greed of officials,” said Muhammad Vazir, a TRS leader of the area, blaming civic and irrigation officials for the misery of the residents.
It is not just the narrowing of water channel that triggered the flood, many of the apartments are constructed on the lake bed of Gangaram Cheruvu.
A 2003 satellite image shows the lake abutting the road.
In contrast, the 2017 shows the area filled with apartment blocks. “We are destroying the ecology for short term gain.
We are reducing the holding capacity of lakes by filling them with building debris, urban waste and silt. At the same time we are reducing the carrying capacity of water channels. This is a classic case of what can happen in other areas of the city. One whole colony is surrounded by human faeces and sewerage. At least now we should clean up our act,” said Lubna Sarwath of Save Our Urban Lakes.
