After witnessing a record rainfall this week, Hyderabad is now battling stench and pollution that flooded drains and manholes have left behind. And similar to Bengaluru reporting several incidents of lakes spilling froth after heavy rain, complaints are now also being received from Saroornagar, Kodandram Nagar and Kukatpally in Hyderabad.
Earlier on Tuesday, manholes in Kondaramnagar had burst open spilling toxic froth. The local civic agencies had to cover the manhole lids with sandbags to control the froth leak.
The residents claimed that the stinking foam cloud was around 6-feet tall and blocked roads which forced them to stay inside their homes. Over 100 families were evacuated from low-lying areas of Hyderabad.
"We had to bring in four tankers of water and spray the water across the foam. Even when it subsided, the excess water from the stormwater drains gushed out like a fountain, breaking open the manholes," said Sanju Kumar, a sanitation official
Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GMHC), traffic police and residents have taken up relief tasks since Monday. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) was deployed on Tuesday to clear the flooded regions in Malkajgiri and residents were provided with food packets.
Manholes in the area are connected to stormwater drains which flow into the lakebeds of the city and end up in Musi river.
The residents from the affected areas also said that the mass immersion of Ganesh deities can be a cause of pollution in the lakes. Over 6,000 deities were immersed in the lakebeds during Ganesh Visarjan.
Bengaluru's Bellandur and Varthur lakes are infamous for spewing foul-smelling froth. In April, the NGT had ordered all industries around Bellandur Lake to shut down and had said that a fine of Rs 5 lakh will be imposed on anyone found dumping waste in and around the lake.
