Roads dug up, a cause for worry as rains near

Water board has conveniently passed buck, claims GHMC

With India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicting early monsoon, residents of 12 peripheral circles of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) limits are a worried lot as they are already facing hardships due to battered roads due to heavy rains. They are apprehensive that they have to face the same situation at least for the next two months as the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) along with other agencies have dug up roads and left the trenches uncovered.

The roads which have been dug by the water board for a total 2,500 km stretch for strengthening the water supply network in peripheral circles are not restored, but just land filled. Their hastily-laid surfaces often crack or cave in. Peripheral circles of the GHMC including Serilingampally, Kukatpally, Uppal and Patancheru are the most affected areas.

“We had have dug up total 2,500 km of road stretch for strengthening the water supply network in peripheral circles of the GHMC and restored

2,100 km under package I. Under package II, they have dug up 350 kilometres road and restored 300 km and are yet to restore

50 kilometre road,” a water board official claimed.

However, the situation on the ground level is different. The roads taken up for reconstruction or repairs will remain unfinished even after the onset of monsoon, which is less than two weeks away as per forecasts. Even if the corporation restored roads, the water board would dig them again to provide 60,000 household tap connections as part of the flagship programme by the state government, said a GHMC official.

The HMWSSB officials claimed that it was the responsibility of the GHMC to restore roads where pipelines above 300 dia were laid. The corporation officials said they did not restore roads in Quthbullapur and LB Nagar circles as the water board officials claimed they would dig the roads very soon in order to give household connections for which the registration process began last month.

A senior GHMC official said, “The HMWS&SB has taken up a water distribution project with a Housing and Urban Development Corporation Limited (HUDCO) loan of `1,900 crore to lay pipelines for a length of around 2,500 km. During the last rainy season, due to ban orders, they stopped digging. Soon after the ban on digging was lifted, it dug more than 350 km but failed to restore in areas like Vanasthalipuram, Hafeezpet and others." He said the water board conveniently passed the buck on the GHMC for which the civic body has been facing the public ire.

“We have reasons to give road cutting permission to departments like HMWSSB, TS Southern Power Distribution Company (TSSPDCL) and private telecom agencies for laying underground cable lines for strengthening and upgrading the infrastructure,” he added.The water board official said, “The city has grown horizontally and vertically since 2007 when surrounding municipalities were merged. Further digging is necessary to ensure water supply to every household to all these areas.” He said even though 50 kilometre work would be completed by June 5, the complete road restoration would take at least two months time.