It is a posh gated community in the Garden City of Bengaluru. People bought their dream villas for around Rs 13 crore each. They also had expensive cars parked in front of these villas. But, when it rained for a day, the entire gated community was flooded and all the villas got submerged in rain water. The residents were forced to remain indoors and pass the time in distress as they could not dare to venture out with about 4-5 feet deep water around them. Those who travelled in luxury cars, had to board tractors to get out of their luxury villas. It may be noted that Hyderabad too faced similar situation with heavy rains bringing life to a halt and some villa gated communities in GO 111 area got inundated with rain water. While one may blame the cloud bursts for the submergence, they cannot deny the fact that such a worse situation arose due to lack of a sound stormwater drainage system. To ensure that Hyderabad withstands such unprecedented flooding, the authorities must initiate preventive measures immediately.
Due to the recent rains in Hyderabad, the residents of Musi catchment areas have suffered badly. When it rains in the rest of the city too, the water gets stagnated everywhere and people have to face severe hardships. Everyone is aware that the main cause is construction of apartments and villas by encroaching upon the water bodies including lakes and canals. However, neither the authorities nor the people’s representatives care much as they themselves are involved in these encroachments. Over a few decades, urbanisation has increased and more than half of the tanks in Hyderabad have disappeared with a large percentage getting encroached by land sharks. Thus, whenever it rains, the rainwater naturally flows into these water bodies which have now become low-lying residential areas. Urban planning became obsolete as the percentage of concrete structures increased. Absence of exposed ground surfaces prevents water from percolating back into the ground. As a result, the ground water gets depleted and we have to face difficulties due to lack of water in summer.
In fact, every time it rains, water flows into the tanks through flood canals. From there, all the water percolates into the ground. But, things have changed as tanks and storm water drains aer getting encroached or becoming dumping sites of construction material. As a result, all the rain water is flowing onto the streets and residential areas. The existing drainage system was built by the Nizam, catering to the needs of people of Hyderabad till date. Many governments that have come to power later, have not focused on developing this system. Ameerpet, Begumpet, Secunderabad, Nizampet, Hafizpet, Moosapet, Kukatpally, Manikonda, Puppalguda, Madhapur, Khairatabad, Ramantapur, Amberpet, Dilsukhnagar and Nagole, have all turned into concrete jungles. The sub-urban areas are yet to get their own local sewerage system.
The Dos and Don’ts?
Urban areas should be developed in a sustainable manner. Apartments built on storm water drains (nalas) should be razed to the ground which would ease flow of flood water and improve connectivity between all water bodies. Further, all the constructions taken up by encroaching upon the tanks, should be demolished. Though HMDA intervened and initiated demolition of illegal structures, it was stopped midway as the authorities yielded to political pressures. Some encroachers have filled the local tank with stones and soil on the 100 feet road leading to Ayyappa Society in Madhapur. If the authorities do not pay attention, we need not get surprised if the biggest apartment comes up there. A gated community is under construction in Miyapur adjacent to the Gurnadham tank, and appears as if this structure was inside the tank itself. While the builder keeps denying it, the locals who have been living in the area for generations insist that the apartment is being constructed in the tank area and if it rains incessantly, the water will enter the cellar.
Rainwater harvesting?
The builders should arrange rainwater harvesting in each apartment and maintain it properly. Those who build private houses must follow this rule, without fail. Groundwater will increase only when this rule is strictly followed. If all the residents collect rainwater, it can be used for small purposes. Local bodies have stopped encouraging people to construct rainwater harvesting pits. GHMC too has been neglegent in inspecting whether the rainwater harvesting systems were being followed by all.
