Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply & Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) staff filling water into tankers in Banjara Hills, Hyderabad.
| Photo Credit: NAGARA GOPAL
Bachupally and Ameerpet in the city stand out among all mandals in Telangana in terms of groundwater extraction, by recording abysmal figures of Groundwater Drought Index (GWDI).
A large number of other areas in the city too are facing acute groundwater crisis four months ahead of summer, portending a bleak situation.
According to figures obtained from the Ground Water department, ‘Extreme Drought’ conditions with regard to groundwater depth are prevailing in at least fourteen mandals in the Core Urban Region (CURE) constituting the State capital. Five more mandals fall under the category of ‘Severe Drought’.
The Groundwater Drought index (GWDI) classifies the mandals based on the groundwater levels, into Normal, Mild Drought, Moderate Drought, Severe Drought and Extreme Drought.
GWDI is calculated by dividing the difference between historical mean depth to groundwater table below surface and the given month’s depth to ground water table, with the historical maximum depth to groundwater table for the same month. The historical figures are calculated based on the data from previous 10 years.
A GWDI greater than -0.15 is considered normal, -0.16 to -0.3 mild drought, -0.31 to -0.45 moderate drought, -0.46 to -0.6 severe drought, and less than -0.6 extreme drought.
Bachupally mandal in Medchal-Malkajgiri district has the worst situation in the State with a GWDI of -2.7, displaying extreme among the extreme drought conditions with regard to groundwater levels. Ameerpet is the next worst with a GWDI of -1.7.
Ameerpet also recorded the highest depth of groundwater in the State in the month of September, 2026, at 32.07 metres below ground level (m bgl). It is more than double the maximum depth in September at 13.36 metres, recorded in previous 10 years.
In Bachupally, it is relatively worse, as the depth in September, 2026 at 30 m bgl is more than three times higher than the maximum depth recorded for the same month over the past 10 years, at 9.06 m bgl.
Saidabad (-1.15), Golconda (-1.02), Rajendranagar (-1.02), Asifnagar (-0.87), Secunderabad (-0.84), Bandlaguda (-0.75), Bahadurpura (-0.64), Amberpet (-0.64), Ghatkesar (-0.81), Medipally (-0.8), Kukatpally (-0.76), and Hayatnagar (-0.91) are the other mandals which are reeling under extreme drought conditions in the city.
Khairatabad, Balanagar, Qutbullahpur, Gandipet and Abdullaupurmet are the other mandals which may be categorised under ‘Severe Drought’ conditions.
A total 33 mandals across the State have their GWDI less than -0.6, which classifies them as having ‘Extreme Drought’ conditions.
The State’s average depth to groundwater level during September, 2026 was 7.52 m bgl, indicating a fall of 3.11 metres compared with September 2025 (4.41m), the report of Ground Water department said.
The department is obtaining data on a monthly basis through a network of 1,771 monitoring stations (piezometers) across 621 mandals in 33 districts of the State, covering different hydro-geological and geo-morphological units and commonly developed aquifers.
Published – October 28, 2026 12:42 am IST
