Water Board nonchalant in midst of overflowing drains, sewage smell

Hyderabad: With yet another monsoon season, the overflowing sewage water, damaged manholes and contamination of drinking water continue to torment residents in various localities of the city. Though the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) has been claiming that under the monsoon plan, residents can report to the Board about opened and tampered manholes, locals allege that they have been raising their concerns with the Board, but they are still not rectified.

Locals pointed out that with the recent scattered rains, due to the lack of an integrated drainage network in many areas, there is a continuous overflow of sewage water, and sometimes the sewage water gets mixed with drinking water. The affected areas include Jeedimetla, Neredmet, Musheerabad, Nizampet, Banjara Hills, Red Hills and Nampally. Also, in many places, there has been a continuous overflow of sewage water from manholes.

“It has been more than a week that I have complained to the Water Board about the damaged manhole at Nizampet but till date the issue has not been rectified. If it is not repaired soon, there is a great risk that someone may slip and fall inside the manhole,” said S Teja, a resident of Nizampet.

It has been two weeks that we have brought to notice to the water department about an overflowing manhole at Khairatabad. Due to this, the complete lane has turned into a cesspool with stinking smell. Locals are facing hardships to travel,” said Naresh from Khairatabad.

Another local from Nampally said, “It has been more than a week since sewage water has been overflowing in our area, and also there is a leakage in drinking water pipeline due to the negligence of HMWSSB in not laying new pipelines. Because of this, the drinking water is getting mixed with sewage water, and the locals are unable to consume the water.”