Rain a routine fear in Hyderabad’s flood-prone Hakeempet

The mangled remains of an autorickshaw, the wrecked wall of a government school, scattered muck and debris are all that remain of the terrifying wall of water that tossed and turned parked vehicles and swept them away in the Hakeempet area of Toli Chowki in Hyderabad on Monday evening.

On Tuesday, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) deployed an earthmover at the mouth of the nala to clear the debris and create a trench for a pipeline.

“The water from MLA Colony pooled and came into the nala. It accumulated behind the wall which broke under the pressure, then raced to the school wall, which also gave way before it raced down the street,” said a Southern Power Distribution Company of Telangana (TGPDCL) lineman who saw the flooding from the Toli Chowki sub-station. The sub-station too was flooded, forcing the officials to switch off electricity for an hour in the locality. 

From his house overlooking Hakeempet, autorickshaw driver Shaikh Mahboob watched floodwaters sweep away autos, two-wheelers, a car and several pushcarts. “Earlier, floodwaters would come from the Lotus Pond, but this year they surged from the MLA Colony in Road No. 12, Banjara Hills,” he said, blaming a newly constructed wall for the inundation. The waters reached his home, which has a foundation stone laid by Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi for ₹45 lakh-construction of a retaining wall and iron grille.   

“Water would flow outside our home. But after the wall (of the electric sub-station) was built, water has started entering our home,” says Nasreen Begum, a homemaker who lives in the area, paying ₹7,000 house rent.

Nasreen’s home sits at 575.76 metres above sea level, but within just 500 metres, the land drops to 563 metres — a steep fall of about 50 feet. The highest point nearby, on Road No. 12, reaches 597 metres. This sharp gradient gave destructive velocity to the floodwaters in Hakeempet on Monday evening, causing extensive damage.

Flood waters are nothing new to the residents of the lane identified as Sana Hotel lane or Jinsi Chowrasta. “We have been living here for the past 12 years. We built this small wall three years ago to keep the floodwaters out. But still water seeped in,” says Moin, a small-time businessman, standing outside his house. 

“Earlier there was only one sewerage pipeline. Now there are two and one more is being added. But every year, the flood intensity is increasing. We have built this short wall. I don’t know how long can we live here in fear,” said Moin. 

Incidentally, in the Tuesday’s Prajawan of Hyderabad Disaster Management and Asset Protection Agency, there were 49 complaints, of which 30 were requests for widening drains to prevent flooding.