Secunderabad: Flood fear stalks dwellers near Hasmathpet lake

Secunderabad: Residents in and around Hasmathpet lake are in deep concern as the monsoon is approaching and yet Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) authorities have not taken any measures to prevent flooding in the nearby areas, even though it is a low-lying area.

Locals alleged that all the pleas of rebuilding the retaining wall which had been collapsed due to the rains in October last year. As many as 500 families reside near the 66 acres lake. According to locals, half of the lake falls under Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) limits and the rest of the portion falls under SCB. Whereas in GHMC limits measures are been taken to prevent flooding but SCB is still lagging behind.

Girish Pranav, resident of Royal Enclave, Hasmathpet road said, " We have been mailing the SCB like almost every day regarding the reconstruction of the walls, pertaining to the sewage and proper method of draining out water from the roads after a heavy downpour. There has been no action done in my locality, whereas the works have been going on at other places for a while now. As our area is a low-lying area water entered the houses up to 5-6 feet last year."

"Even a little amount of rain is enough to overflow the areas and the nala gets filled and overflows on the streets. We the residents are residing in fear daily, as monsoon is just to appear and if there is a heavy downpour then nala can overflow and it can be a concern for families staying here. Despite complaining to the SCB about the issue, there is no concert measure taken by them," said Kapil, another resident of Hasmathpet.

Gopal Krishna Das, additional engineer, SCB, said, "There is a delay in the rebuilding of retaining walls due to the tendering delay, once the tender is passed shortly the works would start."