185 tanks overflowing around Hyderabad due to heavy rains

To the brim: The Osman Sagar reservoir in Hyderabad, at 1,786 feet water level, is inching to its full tank level of 1,790 feet after over a decade of meagre inflows.

Telangana Principal Irrigation Secretary Rajat Kumar has said that all the 185 tanks in Hyderabad have surplussed and overflowing following heavy rains over the past week.

On the directions of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao a few hours earlier, Mr. Rajat Kumar held a meeting with irrigation officials and constituted fifteen teams to monitor the situation at tanks round the clock and inform higher officials. By special powers, the Zonal Commissioners of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation were authorised to sanction works up to ₹2 crore for immediate powers. Earlier, they could sanction works not exceeding ₹20 lakh.

Speaking to reporters along with Engineer-in-Chief of Irrigation C. Muralidhar, he said except three tanks — Pallechuruvu at Rajendranagar, Appacheruvu at Gaganpahad and Gurram Cheruvu at Balapur — which suffered major damages, none of the remaining 182 tanks breached. The repairs to three tanks were carried out within twelve hours. There were minor damages to fifty three tanks.

The unprecedented rains resulted in 60 to 70 cms of rainfall within a week from October 14 while the average annual rainfall of the city was 80 cms. The chief amounts of rainfall were recorded on October 14 (32 cms). October 17 (10 cms) and October 18 (19 cms).

Reassuring citizens that the situation was not out of hands, the senior bureaucrat said fifty per cent of dewatering was already completed. . He admitted to problems of inundation in low lying areas where people were evacuated with boats of tourism department.

He did not spell out the number of deaths nor encroachments of tanks as the police looked into casualties while encroachments were a subject matter of courts and sub judice to discuss. However, he said all the tanks in the State were mutated to irrigation department.

Overall, he said 101 tanks out of 46,000 tanks in the State breached. Permission to strengthen the bunds of tanks was given. Irrigation officials were instructed to reduce the weir of tanks and release water to avoid breaches.