The Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) is gearing up for monsoon by commencing the annual desilting of storm water drains within its limits last week. Apart from deploying two teams of 18 members each, the Board is planning to use mini earthmovers to clear debris and other trash jammed in the drains.
There are nearly 25 open drains within the SCB limits. All these drains are connected to the Hasmathpet-Begumpet Bridge and Railway Colony-Balamrai pump house nalas, from where the drain water flows into Hussainsagar through the Patny nala.
Apart from silt accumulation, encroachments on drains affect the free flow of drain water from colonies to main drains. As a result, most nalas at Kakaguda, Sikh Village, LIC Colony, Railway Colony, Balamraia and Rasoolpura overflow during rainy season, senior SCB officials point out.
To avoid this, SCB workers have already taken up desilting of nalas in Hasmathpet, Lal Bazar, Marredpally, Bolarum, Bowenpallya and Rasoolpura manually. This apart, sheds and encroachments on nalas that block the free flow of storm water will be removed, asserts SCB Chief Executive Officer S. Balakrishna.
Once the manual desilting is over, workers will commence desilting operations in major nalas behind Jubilee Bus station, Picket, Bolarum and Balamrai using mini earthmovers. They will be hired on payment of about Rs. 800 per hour, and efforts are also on to commence anti-larval operations very shortly, he adds.
