Heavy rains returned to torment the city and the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), with an incident of wall collapse claiming three lives near Mehdipatnam, water level rising in Hussainsagar and the condition of roads going from bad to worse along most corridors.
The civic body, which took up a drive against old and dilapidated structures in the wake of City Lights Hotel collapse four months ago, said that a total of 382 buildings and houses were demolished, out of the identified 660 unsafe structures. And, more unsafe structures are being identified for necessary action.
The issue figured during the GHMC Standing Committee meeting on Thursday, and Additional Commissioner (Planning) D. Ronald Rose said that some owners and tenants had given consent for strengthening some identified structures.
Since Wednesday, the emergency control rooms of the civic body has received 53 complaints of water-logging from various parts, apart from eight tree fall complaints. Citizens contacted the central emergency control room to register as many as 24 water-logging complaints followed by eight complaints at the south zone control room and six each in east and south zones.
The rainfall data compiled by the GHMC from its rain gauges showed 97 mm rainfall recording at Medchal, followed by 89 mm at Moulali, 85.5 mm at Malkapur and 81.75 mm at Miralam.
The rain that has been lashing the city with brief intervals since Wednesday has led to water-logging at several places and potholes developing along several stretches. In the last three months, the condition of roads has taken a heavy beating thanks to the rain. Furthermore, the civic body’s efforts to fill potholes and restore the stretches have not yielded any results so far.
Earlier, the GHMC had claimed it had taken up the restoration of roads and had identified as many as 19,587 potholes, of which 18,618 were attended to. But, patch works and re-carpeting initiatives appear to have gone for a toss, and potholes have once again surfaced giving a torrid time for drivers.
With increased inflows, the water level in Hussainsagar has risen and continues to keep the residents of surrounding colonies and GHMC officials on tenterhooks.
