Hyderabad: Over 90 per cent of choked sewer lines are due to waste flushed down toilets, dumped in open drains or directly into manholes.
In residential areas, anything from sanitary napkins and condoms to cigarettes butts and plastic is dumped and in commercial areas, it is kitchen waste, plastic.
GHMC commissioner Dr B. Janardhan Reddy said that 70 per cent of blockages is due to dumped plastic. “Most of these plastic bags are being thrown in open nalas, which lead to a lot of problems. Nearly 70 per cent of blocked nalas are due to plastic waste.”
In April, a major sewer line was damaged at B.S. Maktha. Drain water had entered the locality and residents could not come out for hours due to the stench. The block was due to plastic waste and sanitary napkins dumped into the drain by residents.
A week before that, sewer water had entered a jewelry store at Somajiguda as the hotels nearby had dumped waste in the line. It took a day for the Board to clear the line.
Many hotels, to avoid paying extra for bulk garbage, dump garbage in the manholes. Also, whenever a manhole is cleaned, the silt is left next to the cover and is not removed, and it flows back into the drain during the next rain.
Purana Pul resident Mr P. Dhanraj said, “A private contract worker opened a drain lid in front of our home and left the waste there. They opened it five days ago and it is still not closed. The drain is now releasing an unbearable smell and the site has become a den for mosquitoes.”
