Floods batter Hyd after Musi river swells due to heavy rain

TOrrential rains lashed Hyderabad and adjoining Ranga Reddy and Vikarabad districts on sabbatum, triggering heavily floods in the Musi River catchment areas and paralysing lifetime crossways the working capital city, officials said.According to officials, the twin reservoirs — Himayat Sagar and Osman Sagar — on the outskirts of Hyderabad, were almost filled to the brim, forcing authorities to release nearly 35,000 cusecs of water, for the first time in the last two decades. The sudden release of water swelled the Musi River, inundating several low-lying settlements.The service road of Nehru Outer Ring Road between Narsingi and Manchirevula was completely cut off due to massive flood flow from Himayatsagar, officials said.“Four persons were stranded in the flood waters and the disaster response force (DRF) teams of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation rescued them,” a Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) official supervising the rescue operations said. At Purana Pul, which was built during the Qutb Shahi period more than 500 years ago, water level reached up to 13 metres, officials said, submerging the old Shiva temple. They added that the family of a temple priest, comprising four members, were trapped inside and had to be rescued.At Rasoolpura, eight people trapped inside a house were rescued using boats, added the officials. In Amberpet’s Ambedkar Nagar, nearly 20 families were stranded on rooftops overnight before being provided food and later evacuated, they said. The causeways at Chaderghat and Moosarambagh over Musi River were closed as floodwaters gushed over them, crippling connectivity. At Moosarambagh, centring structures of a new bridge under construction were washed away.Inundation forced thousands from Shankar Nagar, Moosa Nagar, Durganagar, Ambedkar Nagar, Krishna Nagar, and other colonies to be shifted to relief camps.The Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station (MGBS), one of the busiest transport hubs located on the banks of Musi River, was inundated after its retaining wall collapsed. Bus services were suspended, causing hardship to passengers, especially during the Dasara festival rush.Hyderabad Disaster Response and Assets Protection Agency (HYDRAA) commissioner A V Ranganath told reporters that relief operations were ongoing, the situation at MGBS was brought under control, and rehabilitation centres were set up for displaced families.Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy took stock of the situation along the Musi River which has been in spate due incessant rains and lifting of the gates of overflowing reservoirs of Osman Sagar and Himayat Nagar in Hyderabad.In view of increasing flood flow in Musi, Revanth Reddy ordered the officials to take appropriate precautions in all low-lying areas and evacuate people to safer places. Rehabilitation measures will also be provided to the evacuated families in the relief camps, said the chief minister. He also personally reviewed the relief measures taken to safely evacuate the passengers who were stranded in MGBS bus station covered with flood waters at midnight and asked officials to divert buses coming to MGBS from various areas to alternative routes.Following the India Meteorological Department (IMD) Saturday forecast predicting heavy rainfall in Hyderabad for the second consecutive day, the chief minister ordered the police, traffic, HYDRAA, GHMC and electricity department remain on alert. The officials of all departments should join the rescue and relief operations in the heavy rain affected areas.GHMC commissioner R V Karnan said 1,500 people were moved to rehabilitation centres where food, water, blankets, and medical care were arranged.Cyberabad Commissioner Avinash Mahanti and Joint CP (Traffic) Gajarao Bhupal inspected flood-hit stretches in Gachibowli, Miyapur, and Lingampally. They instructed officials to take “war-footing measures” to clear waterlogging and ease traffic snarls.