Hyderabad: Officials were manually breaching several tanks and lakes to prevent fresh floods on Friday. The bund of Turka Chervu was cut at Pragathinagar by HMDC, irrigation, GHMC and police officials.
Minister K.T. Rama Rao inspected the lake on Thursday night for about four hours and directed officials to divert water to other nalas and tanks. Kukatpally Traffic ACP Pagadala Ashok said that the water levels in Turka Cheruvu were becoming a threat to colonies on low-laying localities.
The overflowing water from Mini Rank Bund, Safilguda Cheruvu, inundated several areas on its way to the Musi — Malkajgiri, Lalapet, Nac-haram, Bhavaninagar, Chilukanagar, Uppal and Boduppal. The Nalla Cheruvu at Boduppal would be breached if it overflowed on the Warangal Highway.
The GHMC opened the sluice of Ibrahim lake in Rajendranagar to allow flood waters to flow into Neknampur lake, near Alkapur, but it sparked outrage among some environmentalists. Ms Lubna Sarwath of Save Our Urban Lakes said the Ibrahim lake was highly polluted with sewage and industrial waste.
Hussainsagar levels continue to rise
Over 5,000 cusecs of water was released from the Hussainsagar on Thursday as water levels rose to 513.87 feet against its Full Tank Level of 513.41 feet. The maximum the tank can hold is 514.75 feet.
Boats continue to stay suspended and experts are saying the silt dug up in front of the sluices is stopping free flow of water.
Move to safer areas, says KTR
Minister for municipal administration K.T. Rama Rao has appealed to those living in low-lying areas to move to safer places. “The government has kept two helicopters ready as part of the rescue operations,” he said.
Mr Rama rao visited Hussainsagar on Friday and ordered the officials to take measures to release the excess water. Mayor Bonthu Rammohan warned that the government would take stringent action against those who spread rumours. “We’re monitoring the situation and engaged in rescue operations. If anyone tries to spread rumours in social media, we’ll track down the IP address and take legal action,” he said.
