Rainwater holding structures in Hyderabad fail to prevent water stagnation during heavy rainfall
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Hyderabad: Crores of money invested by Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in constructing rainwater holding structures in various locations in the city to mitigate urban flooding on major thoroughfares have proved to be ineffective in preventing water stagnation during heavy rainfall.
In 2024, GHMC proposed to construct 50 rainwater holding structures near major water logging points in the city so that surplus water can be diverted to these tanks and the same can be re-pumped into the drain on any dry day. Currently, there are around 140 water logging points, including 30 critical ones.
Among them, the civic body constructed 10 rainwater holding structures with a capacity of 2 to 10 lakh litres each, costing between Rs 50 lakh and 1 crore, including at Mercure Hyderabad KCP, Errum Manzil, Lake View Guest House, Raj Bhavan Road, Secretariat, and Ameerpet.
However, despite these efforts, water continues to accumulate when heavy rains occur at these locations.
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For instance, on Raj Bhavan Road, heavy rainfall on Thursday and Saturday caused severe water gushing on the roads, with water filling the rainwater holding structures within a few minutes, leading to water stagnation on the road. These structures have RCC socket, spigot pipes along with all necessary items for diversion of water, injection borewells, fixing of iron grills for collection of stormwater, supply of high-density polyethylene material grade for inlet and outlets, and submersible pumps to pump the water into the nearest drain in a few hours.
GHMC attributed the ongoing situation to cloudburst-like rains, which brought 10 cm of rainfall within one hour. "The existing rainwater holding structures are designed to manage up to 5 cm of rainfall. During the heavy downpour, water rapidly filled these structures within minutes. However, these structures enabled GHMC to pump it into nearby drains within 30 minutes, facilitating the smooth flow of traffic," said a senior official in the engineering wing, GHMC.
Meanwhile, Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) decided to undertake new pipeline works at flood-prone stretches to alleviate water stagnation on the roads. The existing water outlets are insufficient to allow free flow of water during intense rainfall, leading to accumulation.
"We proposed initiating civil works at several water logging areas, including Maitrivanam, Malkam Cheruvu, and Malkpet, on a pilot basis before expanding the project to additional locations. Our engineering wing will coordinate with relevant departments such as GHMC and traffic to execute these works," said AV Ranganath, commissioner, HYDRAA.
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