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An ancient, crumbling city

An ancient, crumbling city

Hyderabad usually evokes images of nawabs, Nizams and royalty on one hand and information technology prowess on the other. But for the last few days, the city, famous for its flawless pearls, has made it to national news for all the wrong reasons. Heavy flooding in the wake of incessant rains has led to the loss of 50 lives besides causing enormous damage to property. Hyderabad has always been a dynamic destination for multinational corporations and Indian businesses alike to set up shop. This is due to the pleasant weather and enabling systems set up by the Government that fast-track foreign investments. Plus, being the de-facto information technology hub of the country, it has an abundant supply of talent, manpower and money. These factors are helping the city score over traditional choices like Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai.

Not only corporations, families and individuals, too, are increasingly choosing to make the city their home. According to the Mercer’s Quality of Living Ranking 2019 survey, Hyderabad has been adjudged as the best Indian city to live in for the fifth year in a row. With a global ranking of 143, it left Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi behind to capture the tag. Mercer’s findings were echoed by the survey of 34 cities done by holidify.com which placed it as the best city to live in with four out of five points. The survey highlighted the dual charm of a city steeped in history combined with all the attractions and facilities of world-class new development like the Financial District and HITEC City.

However, it is the old part of the city which is now turning out to be the root of all problems in this otherwise splendid metro. The new residential and commercial areas of Hyderabad have always had a relatively better-designed civic infrastructure, drainage and sewage system. They have a comparatively improved layout  that consciously steered clear of low-lying lake beds, dried river beds and other areas, where flooding was normal in the event of heavy rains, and opened upstream reservoir gates. But the same cannot be said of the old city area, which still survives on sewage and drainage infrastructure built in the early 19th century. As these relics of a bygone era crumble, the citizens are paying the price for it.

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has largely done a good job of handling the civic infrastructure of the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad, including the old city areas. But the unplanned development and construction that happened in the early 1980s and 1990s has come to haunt it today.

There was unfettered development on canals, lake beds and other water bodies that should have otherwise been left untouched. The water bodies of a city are its margin spaces that not only play a critical role in absorbing unexpected flood waters but also protect its ecosystem and biodiversity by providing habitat for a variety of flora and fauna. The moment these bodies are encroached upon, urban flooding becomes an obvious outcome. Over the last few years, many of our metros, such as Mumbai and Chennai, have experienced the painful reality of urban flooding. This year it was Hyderabad’s turn. The fact that the city witnessed such huge strides of development has not eased its experience with the recent floods.

Another aspect that is making things difficult is the natural undulations that abound. These varied levels in the city’s topography result in the water gravitating towards low-lying areas with exceptional force, sweeping away whatever lies in its path. The twin cities need to quickly hammer out a long-term strategy to handle weather extremities in the future, since these floods may not be the last that Hyderabad will see.

The GHMC needs to resuscitate the water bodies so that it can fall back upon them in case of heavy rains and floods. Additionally, the water drainage system must be interlinked with the rainwater harvesting network so that excess water is seamlessly channelised into large capacity underground storage facilities. This can later be utilised to irrigate public parks, roadside trees and so on. The municipal corporation will do well to take cues from other metros in the world that are handling similar problems. Many cities in Europe for instance have adopted channel and pipeline systems that carry excess water to the nearby rivers. They have also strengthened embankments so that the increased water load is handled without any undue concerns.

No matter how glitzy or well-ranked a city is, without an efficient network of drains, a proper sewage disposal system and rain water harvesting, it can be brought to its knees within days. That is what has happened in Hyderabad.

(The writer is an environmental journalist)

An ancient, crumbling city

An ancient, crumbling city

Hyderabad usually evokes images of nawabs, Nizams and royalty on one hand and information technology prowess on the other. But for the last few days, the city, famous for its flawless pearls, has made it to national news for all the wrong reasons. Heavy flooding in the wake of incessant rains has led to the loss of 50 lives besides causing enormous damage to property. Hyderabad has always been a dynamic destination for multinational corporations and Indian businesses alike to set up shop. This is due to the pleasant weather and enabling systems set up by the Government that fast-track foreign investments. Plus, being the de-facto information technology hub of the country, it has an abundant supply of talent, manpower and money. These factors are helping the city score over traditional choices like Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai.

Not only corporations, families and individuals, too, are increasingly choosing to make the city their home. According to the Mercer’s Quality of Living Ranking 2019 survey, Hyderabad has been adjudged as the best Indian city to live in for the fifth year in a row. With a global ranking of 143, it left Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi behind to capture the tag. Mercer’s findings were echoed by the survey of 34 cities done by holidify.com which placed it as the best city to live in with four out of five points. The survey highlighted the dual charm of a city steeped in history combined with all the attractions and facilities of world-class new development like the Financial District and HITEC City.

However, it is the old part of the city which is now turning out to be the root of all problems in this otherwise splendid metro. The new residential and commercial areas of Hyderabad have always had a relatively better-designed civic infrastructure, drainage and sewage system. They have a comparatively improved layout  that consciously steered clear of low-lying lake beds, dried river beds and other areas, where flooding was normal in the event of heavy rains, and opened upstream reservoir gates. But the same cannot be said of the old city area, which still survives on sewage and drainage infrastructure built in the early 19th century. As these relics of a bygone era crumble, the citizens are paying the price for it.

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has largely done a good job of handling the civic infrastructure of the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad, including the old city areas. But the unplanned development and construction that happened in the early 1980s and 1990s has come to haunt it today.

There was unfettered development on canals, lake beds and other water bodies that should have otherwise been left untouched. The water bodies of a city are its margin spaces that not only play a critical role in absorbing unexpected flood waters but also protect its ecosystem and biodiversity by providing habitat for a variety of flora and fauna. The moment these bodies are encroached upon, urban flooding becomes an obvious outcome. Over the last few years, many of our metros, such as Mumbai and Chennai, have experienced the painful reality of urban flooding. This year it was Hyderabad’s turn. The fact that the city witnessed such huge strides of development has not eased its experience with the recent floods.

Another aspect that is making things difficult is the natural undulations that abound. These varied levels in the city’s topography result in the water gravitating towards low-lying areas with exceptional force, sweeping away whatever lies in its path. The twin cities need to quickly hammer out a long-term strategy to handle weather extremities in the future, since these floods may not be the last that Hyderabad will see.

The GHMC needs to resuscitate the water bodies so that it can fall back upon them in case of heavy rains and floods. Additionally, the water drainage system must be interlinked with the rainwater harvesting network so that excess water is seamlessly channelised into large capacity underground storage facilities. This can later be utilised to irrigate public parks, roadside trees and so on. The municipal corporation will do well to take cues from other metros in the world that are handling similar problems. Many cities in Europe for instance have adopted channel and pipeline systems that carry excess water to the nearby rivers. They have also strengthened embankments so that the increased water load is handled without any undue concerns.

No matter how glitzy or well-ranked a city is, without an efficient network of drains, a proper sewage disposal system and rain water harvesting, it can be brought to its knees within days. That is what has happened in Hyderabad.

(The writer is an environmental journalist)

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