GHMC to construct strormwater drain for OGH to prevent flooding

Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has decided to construct a bypass stormwater drain for preventing water from overflowing into the Osmania General Hospital (OGH).

Sources said these works could be taken up only after monsoon, as it involves road cutting, which would not be possible now. Further, the bypass box drain construction is a time-consuming process, which can be completed only during the next financial year. The drain will be 200-metre long upstream of the Musi river towards Patanwadi on the Begum Bazaar side. “The estimated cost is `35 lakh. But we are not sure it would be a permanent solution, unless we study the OGH heritage building in detail. No one has a blueprint of the structure,” a senior GHMC official noted.

Officials said the overenthusiastic hospital management had demolished a catch pit, which had been constructed during the Asaf Jahi era. The catch pit fell into the drain, which was constructed underneath the structure, resulting in its chokage. This apart, the TS Medical Infrastructure Development Corporation (TSMIDC), which maintains the OGH, had constructed roads and other structures within the hospital premises. These were the reasons for flooding.

Sources said though the age-old drain has been partially rectified and chokage removed, water could still overflow if there is a daylong rainfall, causing inconvenience for patients.

Officials of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach) say flooding has already weakened the OGH heritage structure. The renovated part of OGH is also extremely weak and any moment parts of plaster of Paris from the rooftop could fall, injuring or killing anyone underneath.

A senior GHMC official, requesting anonymity, said, “No one, including Intach, TSMIDC and the GHMC know about drinking water and sewerage channels underneath the heritage structure. If the overall structure is disturbed, it could create unnecessary complications. Temporarily we have cleared the chokage. However, the structure will still get flooded till the bypass drain is not constructed".

A major cause for flooding are the multi-storeyed buildings with five to six floors that have come up in place of individual dwellings on 100 to 120 square yard plots in the area. The amount of drainage has multiplied as a result. Instead of connecting their sewage channels to the main sewage line, many house owners have connected them to the stormwater network on the sly. This has increased the pressure on the system.