Nizam-era drainage better than new ones

The century-old storm water drain system of the Nizam era has proven that even now it is much better than the modern drainage system. Old mohallas of Hyderabad are not much affected by the recent continuous rain. Rainwater only entered houses in areas colonised after 1960.

When the Musi River was flooded in 1908, the sixth Nizam, Mir Mahboob Ali Khan, appointed Mokshagondam Vishweshwarayya as chief adviser to avoid such havoc in future and focus on the draining of storm water. He asked him to study Hyderabad and chalk out an elaborate plan to manage the floods and for storm water management.

After his demise in 1911, the seventh Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan, established the City Improvement Board to provide better civic facilities in the city. Later, the City Drainage Board was established in 1926.

The system is still serving efficiently despite a manifold increase in the population. During the recent incessant rain, it survived the severe force of the water. Old mohallas like Moghalpura, Khilwat, Fateh Darwaza, Chelapura, Hussaini Alam, Sultan Shahi and Chanchalguda are areas never affected during heavy rains. In these areas, rainwater recedes in lesser time as the lines of the storm water drains and drainage drains are much deeper and wider compared with lines developed after the Nizam era. In the Old City, only those habitations were being affected during the rain which came up either on water bodies or on the banks of nalas. Such areas are like Talabkatta, Ganga Bowli, Bhavani Nagar, Salam Chowk, Falaknuma Al-Jubail Colony, Bilalnagar, Amannagar, Moula ka Chilla are the areas in the Old City which were inundated during the heavy rains.

New colonies which emerged in Tolichowki like Nizam Colony, Salar Jung Colony, MD Lines, Nadeem Colony, Al-Hasnat Colony, Al-Kareem Colony, Owaisi Colony, Akbarpura, Balreddynagar are most affected areas which are inundated every year. Local people complained that the GHMC authorities do not de-silt the Balkampet nala passing through the military area.

Dr Gade Venkatesh, a sanitation expert, said Asaf Jahi rulers were keen to acquire world class facilities in their estate and always focused on high quality. Whatever they built and developed were the world’s best standards of their times. The effective working of that system shows the great vision of the Nizam who had planned keeping in mind the manifold increase in the population.

Century-old storm water drain system of the Nizam era has proven that even now it is much better than the modern drainage system as old mohallas of Hyderabad are not much affected by the recent rain