Summer rain exposes Hyderabad’s drainage infra

HYDERABAD: The city has been caught off guard once again by heavy rainfall on Tuesday, highlighting its lack of preparedness for the monsoon.
The civic body has been prioritising the completion of phase one of the Strategic Nala Development Programme works by June 1, but the neglect of disilting works in drains and nalas is a cause for concern. Officials are yet to come up with a plan for monsoon preparedness this year.
The SNDP works have missed multiple deadlines. The works were initially scheduled for completion by May 2022, then extended to June, December, and the final deadline was March 2023.
Of the 33 SNDP works taken up within the GHMC limits, 18 have been completed so far, with officials hoping to finish the rest by June 1. A senior official in GHMC expressed confidence that most of the works would be completed before the monsoon.
However, officials noted that citizens must take responsibility for keeping the nalas clean, as many are seeing solid waste dumped after desilting work. As a result, the desilting works are expected to be carried out in May.