Hyderabad Residents Can Complain About Storm Water Drains On This WhatsApp Number

Jun 14, 2021, 17:46 IST

Despite the government's allocation of Rs 298.35 crore to complete the 468 drain work, only about 10% of the work has been completed so far.

On Sunday, the precast cover slab work on open stormwater drains at Chutla Basthi in Secunderabad remained unfinished.

HYDERABAD: With the arrival of the monsoon in the state, just 10% of the precast cover slab work on open stormwater drains (SWD) less than two metres wide has been finished in the twin cities, with work progressing at a snail's pace.

In the Charminar and Khairatabad zones, no work has been finished, while in the Serilingampally, Kukatpally, and Secunderabad zones, less than ten percent of the work has been done.

Following the death of Sumedha, a 12-year-old girl who fell into an open drain in Neredmet, widespread public outrage pushed Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) Minister KT Rama Rao to take the matter seriously. Minister KTR also asked the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) to begin capping and repair work on open SWDs in the same month. The state government granted GHMC administrative approval for Rs 298.35 crore in order to complete 468 drain projects.

Despite the fact that more than eight months have elapsed, just 10% of the capping work on SWD has been finished. Only 43 of the 468 sanctioned works have been finished, 80 are in the tendering process, and 345 are in different stages of construction. There are 213 works for installing precast slab covers on 70.81 km of open drains, 142 works for construction of box and pipe drains on 42.88 km, 83 works for installing chain-link mesh on 45.72 km, and 30 miscellaneous works.

Senior authorities, on the other hand, indicated that some of the projects were already underway, while others were still in the tendering stage. These projects are being carried out at the zonal level and have been delayed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

For SWD concerns, use WhatsApp.

A WhatsApp group number 9848021665 has been set up specifically for the twin cities to receive complaints about SWDs. Citizens with complaints can submit data via WhatsApp to the above-mentioned number, together with appropriate personal information and photos of the drains that need to be repaired.