Cyberabad sits on septic bomb

Hyderabad: Despite spending Rs 150 crore on an underground drainage system in Hitec City and its surroundings, several colonies in Cyberabad are sitting on a septic bomb.

The drainage networks of a large number of colonies are yet to be connected to the main sewerage outlets laid by the Water Board. As per the sewerage master plan for Serilingampally municipal area, the Water Board has already completed laying 246 km of the 254 km length of sewer lines and work on the remaining 8 km is in progress.

The implementation of the sewerage master plan for Serilingampally, including Hitec City and Cyberabad areas, was started in 2009 at an estimated cost of Rs 156 crore with funding from the JNNURM.

Cyberabad residents complained that the septic tanks in the respective colonies had outlived their utility and there was an urgent need for the drainage outlets of the colonies to be connected with the Board’s main pipeline.

Gulmohar Colony Welfare Association president Shaik Khasim said that they had been representing the matter to the local MLA and to Water Board officials. “No specific timeframe has been given to us for connection of the colony’s drainage outlet with the Board’s main line,” he said, and added that at some places drainage water was overflowing, posing hazards to the over 1,200 families living in Gulmohar Colony.

“The name Hitec City is appropriate as there are a lot of IT firms here, but the government has failed to provide infrastructure,” said M. Vinay Kumar, a resident of Sri Ram Nagar Colony.

Meanwhile, Srinivas Reddy of the Water Board confirmed that connection to the main line of the Board is yet to be provided to many colonies in Cyberabad.

“The delay in providing connectivity was due to non-availability of land at Surram Cheruvu for construction of a Sewerage Treatment Plant. The issue has been settled. As per the master plan, STPs are being constructed down stream at four locations so that drainage is treated before it flows into the Musi,” he said.