Meeting held to review monsoon preparedness

Principal Secretary, Municipal Administration & Urban Development, M. Dana Kishore asks superintending engineers to personally visit and resolve issues on a war footing ahead of monsoons

Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) is working on flood prevention measures ahead of monsoons by desilting stormwater drains and taking measures to avoid waterlogging.

At a meeting to review monsoon preparedness of the corporation on Tuesday, Principal Secretary, Municipal Administration & Urban Development, M. Dana Kishore said, “A total of 125 locations that are affected by waterlogging have been identified and measures have been taken to address the issue permanently at 22 locations.”

Mr. Dana Kishore asked the superintending engineers to personally visit and resolve issues on a war footing at 40 locations where the problem is severe. He asked them to take preventive measures with regard to other locations too.

Speaking about safety precautions around stormwater drains, he said culverts need to be cleared of garbage and other utilities near culverts need to be removed before the first week of June.

“The city has a drain length of 1,304 km which should be protected to prevent untoward incidents during monsoons. For this, nala audit should be completed as per time schedule. Awareness should be created among public not to litter nalas with garbage. Bins should be installed for collection of garbage,” he suggested.

Asking officials to plan ahead to prevent hassles due to heavy rains and floods, Mr. Dana Kishore directed the Disaster Response Force under the Enforcement, Vigilance and Disaster Management Directorate to be prepared to face emergencies at any time. Mock drills in coordination with Fire, Water, Police and other departments concerned should be organised in the last week of May or first week of June in order to raise the trust quotient among public.

Directions were issued for organising an exhibition on regular desilting for public awareness and for completion of flood prevention works at a faster pace.

GHMC Commissioner D. Ronald Rose, MD of Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply & Sewerage Board Sudarshan Reddy, Engineering department officials, zonal commissioners and others attended the meeting.