Dead rats, sewage, plastic waste, muck and vehicles covered with sludge continue to line the streets of Vali Colony, Meraj St and other areas of Nadeem Colony on the northern side of the Golconda Fort.
“This is the biggest flood since 2008,” says Dastgir, who vacated his house and moved to his relatives’ place. “We were evacuated by a boat after two days of the flooding,” informs Azghar, a businessman, who moved to his sister’s house in Bandlaguda. “I sent my wife to her parents’ place and I stayed back to ensure thieves or vandals don’t raid the house,” says Hanif, who works with an IT major in Gachibowli.
The red alert on Tuesday kept the remaining residents on tenterhooks and their fears came true as water rose again after the afternoon rain spell. “We had to walk in the dirty water to reach my grandmother’s house. I was not scared but there were children who were screaming in darkness,” remembers Ayaz, a degree student, who moved to Grammar Colony during the flood of October 14.
It’s been 10 days since quite a few residents of Nadeem Colony were forced to move out of their homes and stay with relatives and friends, and wait for the water to recede in their locality. “This colony has the Shah Hatim Talab on the other side. They are releasing sewage from Banjara Hills, Paramount Colony, Hakimpet and Shaikept through the nala. The outlet into the lake is narrow, that’s why this flood water is not draining,” says Dastgir, who built one of the first houses in the locality in 2002.
Moving out of their homes and putting up at their relatives’ is not something new for residents of Nadeem Colony. While the havoc wrought by the 2008, 2009, 2011, 2014 flooding is well known, Nadeem Colony makes news every monsoon for all the wrong reasons. “It was never this bad. There is no water or electricity even after so many days. People are giving us food and we are lighting candles in the night,” says Shaikh Idris, a cancer patient, who climbed to the first floor as water swirled inside the ground floor of his house in the locality.
After the State government announced relief measures, including dry rations and cash, NGOs and community leaders are reaching out to collect details from the residents. But a large number of residents have moved out of the area temporarily as they usually do during flooding in the area.
