Hyderabad: While the residents of Hyderabad are having harrowing time after rains deluge the city of pearls for the past few days; several memes, images about the city roads flooded with water are surfacing on internet provoking humour. City roads turned into swimming pools and cellars of several apartments have turned into water tanks. The Hyderabad residents are facing never-before situation with the GHMC failing to clear the storm water or had taken any measures in averting the present situation. If the continuous rainfall is termed as a natural calamity, residents are to be blamed for their ignorance in purchasing flats without verifying the venture layout from the builders.

Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, during his short stint under the Hyderabad Nizam, came out with a master plan for underground drainage system and measures for protecting city from flood water in 1905. Constructions were planned according to his master plan. It was planned in such a way that whenever the city received a heavy rainfall, all storm water used to be diverted into Hussain Sagar nullah and the river Musi.

Gradually as Hyderabad grew into metropolitan, water bodies were slowly shrank with the land sharks encroaching them in and around twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. Indiscriminate construction was started with the private builders bribing the government officials. Large number of water bodies have disappeared as time passed. Slowly concrete jungles came into existence without proper planning and skill in tackling storm or drainage water.

Nizampet locality is a perfect example. Now the area has become an island now. The reason behind this situation is – building housing ventures by encroaching water bodies. And the second mistake by the builder is not planning proper channel to divert the storm water when such incessant rains occur. Meanwhile, the government, which has started blame game against the previous governments for the plight, has so much task before it. The onus is on the TRS government.

Now the test begins for the TRS leaders and elected representatives. Although, there was very less number of IT professionals came out and voted during the GHMC elections, the government should come to the rescue of residents of Nizampet and other areas dominated by IT lot. This would eventually better the chances of the ruling party to gain some confidence among the IT professionals.