Musi Revival A Necessity, Not a Choice: Revanth

Hyderabad:Fifty people died in the 2020 floods in Telangana, more than 1,000 families were displaced along the Musi corridor that year, and the city saw another round of rain-linked deaths, missing persons and waterlogging in 2025. That record makes the major part of the government’s case and why they insist "Musi’s revival is not a choice — it is a necessity.”

The argument was put forward in the presentation by MRDCL managing director E.V. Narasimha Reddy when he unveiled Musi rejuvenation plan on Friday.

“The city itself grew along the river during the Qutb Shahi period, and for more than 300 years it served as the ecological backbone of the city,” Narasimha Reddy said, adding, “Now it carries the waste of a growing city.”

The Musi system begins with two streams, Musa and Isa, which meet near Bapu Ghat and the 1908 floods forced the city to confront the river’s power, leading to the construction of Osmansagar and Himayatsagar for drinking water supply and flood control. Osmansagar was started in 1911 and completed in 1920, he said. Himayatsagar was completed in 1927.

That history led directly into the present crisis with flooding, encroachments, untreated sewage wager, solid waste dumping with 27 nalas joining the Musi. On flooding, he added that all the floodwater entering the city has to merge into the Musi and pass through it.

Once that channel is obstructed, neighbourhood flooding follows. Climate change is also making the rainfall itself harder for the city to handle. “Our systems were originally designed to handle rainfall of around two to ten centimetres. Today we are seeing rainfall events of 20 to 40 centimetres within 24 hours,” Narasimha Reddy said. “The Musi project is not only about cleaning the river. It is an integrated approach for the entire city. Every monsoon that passes without action is a disaster we chose not to prevent.”