HYDRAA Gears Up For Rains
HYDRAA officials stated their Disaster Response Force (DRF) teams have procured equipment to deal with waterlogging, traffic jams, fallen trees, wall collapses, and other emergencies.
Hyderabad:Ahead of peak monsoon months, the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) has started preparing to handle rain-related emergencies across the city.
HYDRAA officials stated their Disaster Response Force (DRF) teams have procured equipment to deal with waterlogging, traffic jams, fallen trees, wall collapses, and other emergencies.
Recently, the state government handed HYDRAA the responsibility of dealing with monsoon emergencies within the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) limits.
The agency was noted to undertake the de-clogging of catchpits during rainfall, dewatering using pumps, traffic diversions, drainage line safety audit to prevent accidental injuries or deaths and de-silting.
Speaking about their operations, Srinivas, a DRF staffer said, “We carry a lot of equipment along with us in our trucks. These tools are used to combat different situations like fire, waterlogging, trees or poles falling, floods etc.”
He said that they have a generator installed in the truck. “The generator is used to not only power the motor, but also generate power in areas where electricity isn’t available”, he stated.
During heavy rain, waterlogging is a major issue in Hyderabad. To tackle this, the DRF teams carry multiple water pumps. “We have multiple water pumps with varying intensity. The biggest pump we have is an industry-grade 10 HP water pump, which can clear a lot of water quickly,” he said.
In cases of wall collapses or structural damage, DRF staff use a variety of machines to carry out rescue operations. “We have hammers, cutter machines, drilling machines and power tools with which we slowly and carefully cut off portions of the walls to protect people,” Srinivas said.
“When we get complaints of trees falling, we remove them using saw machines and axes,” he said.
Apart from these, DRF trucks also carry first aid kits, fire extinguishing balls, fire extinguishers, ropes, life jackets, lifebuoy tubes, helmets, and safety nets for fires and floods. “We also have a spare battery, in case we need power during an outage,” Srinivas noted.
“We have 51 DRF teams, ready to be deputed in emergency situations. Each DRF team will have 12 DRF staffer, and they will make sure the emergency is tackled immediately. We also set up 130 monsoon emergency teams to assist during rainfall”, said a HYDRAA official.