The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : MG road saved from flooding woes

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Tuesday, Aug 12, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

MG road saved from flooding woes

Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD: Shop owners near Gandhi statue in Secunderabad nowadays cannot wipe off the grin on their faces. Reason is, the recent heavy rain did not lead to flooding of their shops, which was hitherto a regular phenomenon.

“Whenever it rained in night, we used to rush to MG road to shift the merchandise from shops. At least two feet of water used to accumulate in my shop even if it rained for half an hour. It would not happen anymore,” asserts a beaming Jitendra of Graduate Tailors.

It was an innovative solution suggested by Sanathnagar legislator M. Sashidhar Reddy and its immediate implementation that saved the businessmen from losses to the tune of a few lakhs of rupees and the inconvenience to people visiting the area from the problem of flooding.

The solution was simple. The collection of rain water was faster than its discharge through the existing storm water drains. “It was as simple as laying another pipeline connecting the manholes with the open drain some seventy yards away. This new pipeline helped discharge rain water speedily into the drain. That’s it,” Mr. Sashidhar Reddy explained. Taking into account the flow of water, a metal pipe was used instead of a cement pipe. The pipe was connected to the drain in front of the Bombay Vimal shop. The second one was done near the drain on the road connecting to Parklane. “The experiment has really worked. We are not worried anymore,” Ravi Madan of Indian Sports told Mr. Reddy, who went to the area to enquire about the efficacy of the experiment. Vicky, owner of Softy Den was all praise for the GHMC workers. “Two of them were here to monitor the situation on Friday night. They ensured that water was drained without any hitch,” he said.

The flooding problem was so intense that Kathiawar Stores had tried out a novel method to prevent water entering the oldest shop. They got a special wooden bar erected to prevent the water from entering the shop. “But now there is no problem,” said Paresh Doshi of Kathiawar’s.

Mr. Sashidhar Reddy pointed out that this MG Road experiment could be tried out at all the ‘hot spots’ which are prone to water logging. A similar experiment at Ranigunj near Bombay Hotel had also worked well.

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