HMWSSB scrambles to fix sewage issue at Charminar

Charminar: The sewerage overflow near the historic Charminar was due to the garbage stuck in the major manhole at Punch Mohalla near Charminar. Officials blame vendors and nearby hotels for the major sewerage overflow and also issued notices to the hotels to construct slit chamber at the hotels.

Daily hundreds of visitors visit the historic Charminar. This weekend was horrible for the visitors visiting the historic structure. Visitors included foreign tourists. Tourists as well as vendors were seen covering their noses and were fuming against the authorities for the poor maintenance of such a historic tourist spot.

The people and the visitors were found wondering whatever happened to the lofty campaign of 'Saaf Hyderabad, Shandaar Hyderabad' near Charminar. Instead, they found large puddles near Charminar. According to the locals near Charminar, the sewerage overflow was there since Saturday and it was overflowing continuously and contained only on Sunday night by the HMWSSB officials.

Speaking on the issue, HMWSSB General Manager Division-1 Khader Mohiuddin said that the sewerage overflow was due to the garbage stuck in a manhole near the Punch Mohalla and was flowing towards Charminar. They find that the overflow was due to the hotels wastage and vendors throwing garbage on roads which fell in the manhole.

"To control the overflowing near the historic Charminar, HMWSSB also issued notices to the nearby hotels and instructed them to construct the slit chamber at their hotels instead of directly connecting their outlets to manholes. Overflow happened due to the choking of wastage and garbage in manholes," he added.

The officers must take action against the vendors and hotel management for throwing garbage on roads, which blocks the manholes, observed a visitor Mohammed Imran.

Mohiuddin said that on Sunday, as soon as they found the overflow issue, they rushed to the site and the issue was rectified and normalcy restored around 9 pm. The issue was due to the huge garbage stuck in manhole and another major reason was the manhole cover was buried due to the laying of BT roads, he added. He said that due to the repeated laying of BT roads, the manhole cover was buried.

To rectify the issue, around 9-inch layer of road was dug up to fix the problem. "BT roads are laid during the night hours without informing HMWSSB. Now, they are asked to inform HMWSSB officials concerned also, besides GHMC officers, whenever a road is being laid," said the General Manager.