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Flooding, water logging, and storm water
drainage problems in Hyderabad are deep rooted in historical development
that disregarded the natural setting. Problems were aggravated by unplanned
expansion of the urban areas and could not be resolved properly because of
uncoordinated efforts, in spite of several repeated attempts in the past;
all in the absence of a fully integrated urban development plan.
Flooding, water logging and storm water
drainage problems together with defective water supply, sewerage and solid
waste disposal has become more intricate and addressed in isolation led to
a vicious cycle. The problem is a lot more complex than realized so far.
Incomplete, inefficient storm water drainage chocked by garbage in the
absence of proper solid waste disposal system added to flooding and water
logging; damaging the under ground water supply and sewerage networks,
which resulted in enormous leakages further adding to water logging and
rise of water table. The causes can be summarized as:
- The absence of proper functional storm water drainage
system.
- Leakages from water supply and sewerage system and its
associated effect on groundwater table rise in Latifabad and other
areas.
- Absence of effective solid waste disposal system.
The
available data indicates that about 21% of the area has ground water table
at 0-5 feet below surface, 38% of area has water table in range of 5-10
feet while water table deeper than 10 below surface feet is in eastern and
western extremities of the area. Latifabad had been reported to have water
table 0-5 feet below surface.
Historically,
the groundwater table reported to be 17.50 feet below surface in 1972
suddenly raised up to 7.0 feet below surface in 1973. This was because of
leaking of badly damaged sewerage system and sinking of manholes which was
later on confirmed by geotechnical investigation in 1977. Actually it is
the leakage of water and sewage system which is the main cause of rise in
water table.
Of
late, the sewerage system in Hyderabad had totally collapsed to the great
detriment of the people of Hyderabad who not only faced the menace of
choking sewerage lines and overflowing gutters but also suffered from
contamination of drinking water by a faulty and leaking sewerage system.
There are some generic suggestions to overcome the issue are:
- All the old and newly constructed drains, main drains or
sub-drains, full of settled particles and solid waste must be
thoroughly and regularly cleaned and maintained.
- A proper system of solid waste disposal should be designed
and developed.
- The water supply and sewerage system be improved and
leakage be stopped particularly in Latifabad and Rajputana Hospital
areas.
To
solve this serious issue, a huge expenditure has been made to streamline
the entire sewerage system by current District Government. Large dia lines
have been laid while the pumping capacity has been enhanced to five times
over the previous capacity. Four new sewerage treatement plants are being
constructed to eliminate the discharge of untreated sewerage into the
canals and Indus River that was a grave health hazard to the downstream
communities. Solid waste management system has been improved and mechanized
to greater extent. Uninterrupted operation of the pumping stations has been
ensured during power failure and standby power Generators of 50 KVA to 1200
KVA capacity have been installed. Now Hyderabad has a much upgraded, safe
sewerage system which has greatly improved the health and sanitary
conditions in the city.
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