Outdated stormwater drains cause flooding

HYDERABAD: Just two spells of heavy rains in the last two days has literally brought the city to its knees and exposed the tall claims of making Hyderabad the most developed city.Almost all main arterial roads, lanes and by-lanes were flooded with rain water, thanks to archaic storm water drain system, laid down during the Nizam’s period. The storm water drains were designed with a carrying capacity of 12 mm to 20 mm per hour. But in the last two days, the city received between 50 mm and 75 mm of rain water per hour, which the drains are simply not able to carry, leading to flooding of all roads and low-lying areas.GHMC officials claimed that apart from the downpour, unplanned urban growth has aggravated the problems. Storm water drains, choked by garbage in absence of proper solid waste disposal system contribute to inundation on all roads. They said the GHMC has taken initiatives to revamp existing drains in about 109 places, including 20 critical points where frequent inundations jam the roads for hours. The situation has improved by 60 percent at these places, officials said.