Heavy rains pound Hyderabad, 7 dead including 4 kids

Hyderabad: Heavy downpour in Hyderabad on Wednesday left seven people, including four children, dead in two rain-related incidents, while traffic movement was thrown out of gear due to waterlogging in most parts of the city. The rains caused a chaotic situation with huge traffic blocks in many parts of the city till afternoon. Several low-lying areas were inundated forcing people to vacate their houses. Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao announced Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia to the kin of the deceased, while an equal sum will be given by Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and Rs 50,000 under ‘Apathbandhu’ scheme, as applicable. [caption id=“attachment_2985296” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Waterlogging at a road after heavy rains lashed Hyderabad on Wednesday. PTI[/caption] Rao held a meeting with state Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister KT Rama Rao, senior officials of GHMC, police and other departments concerned and reviewed the situation, a statement from the CM’s office said. Four members of a family, including parents and their two children, were killed when an under-construction wall collapsed on their hut in Ramanthapur area, KT Rama Rao said. The victims were asleep when the mishap occurred, a police official said. In the other incident, three members of a family, including a woman and her two daughters, died when a part of their house collapsed in Bholakpur area, the minister said. Another building collapsed at Lal Darwaja in Old City, but no one was injured. GHMC Commissioner B Janardhan Reddy instructed officials that people staying in old and dilapidated buildings be evacuated immediately. Due to heavy rains, water-logging was reported at several places and GHMC teams were clearing stagnated points at Nampally, Secunderabad station, Khairatabad and other areas. Tree branches also fell in some areas due to rains. Officials released 120 cusecs of water from the swollen Husain Sagar lake which received huge inflow of water due to the heavy rains. Later addressing a press conference, KTR said over 1,000 old buildings have been identified by GHMC in dilapidated conditions and ought to be demolished. So far, 940 buildings have been demolished by the municipal authorities and another 95 were razed by the owners themselves. “We need about Rs 11,000 crore to set right the sewerage system in the entire city,” he said. Following heavy rains, massive traffic congestion was reported between LB Nagar and Malakpet, Moosarambagh, Yakutpura, Uppal, Tarnaka, various localities in Secunderabad, the Secretariat, Mehdipatnam, Lakadi-ka-Pul and Punjagutta, among other areas. Office-goers had a tough time commuting to work with several roads waterlogged, while many residential areas in low-lying areas also got inundated due to the heavy rains. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) AV Ranganath said there were reports of traffic blockade in some areas which were waterlogged due to heavy rains in the morning. “We are diverting traffic wherever it is necessary to ease the movement of vehicles. Due to overflowing of drainages there was waterlogging on some of the main roads leading to slowing down of traffic. With the help of GHMC, we are trying to clear the blockades,” the DCP said. Due to heavy rains and waterlogging in Hyderabad and Secunderabad, 10 MMTS (local) trains between Hyderabad-Lingampalli were cancelled and 3 MMTS services between Hyderabad-Lingampalli were partially cancelled. However, on restoration of normalcy, four MMTS special trains were run between Hyderabad-Lingampalli to clear the rush of stranded passengers, South Central Railway officials said. Amberpet received the maximum 118 mm rain in the city. “The MeT department has predicted more rains in next 24-48 hours,” KTR said. Telangana Chief Minister and Chief Secretary Rajiv Sharma are monitoring the situation, he added.