Three colonies downstream of Bandlaguda lake are forced to bear with roads submerged in sewage, and severe stench thereof, for the last three days, all owing to the laxity of officials and short-sightedness of the authorities.
Padmavathi Colony, Anandi Enclave and Raghavendra Colony are the three colonies that have been given a taste of inundation way ahead of monsoons.
The residents are in a way bearing the brunt of the ongoing SNDP works upstream of Bandlaguda lake. Large amounts of sewage from areas such as Vanasthalipuram and Mansurabad are getting dumped in the lake through the newly-developed storm water drainage system.
However, downstream of Bandlaguda lake, the drain works have not been finished, due to which scope for proper drainage was not there. As a result, the excess water flowed back into the Ayyappa Colony, a slum developed right in the lake bed, on May 31.
Left with no other option, the residents of Ayyappa Colony, with support from a local leader, created a breach to the lake on the other side, to drain the excess water, which flowed right through the colonies to find its way to Nagole lake.
Surender Yadav, the local leader and corporator Ch. Aruna Yadav’s husband, blames it on Irrigation officials who did not care to repair the surplus weir of the lake.
“The weir has been defunct for the last three months, and despite several pleas, they did not bother to repair it. We merely cleared the breach created by Irrigation officials during last year’s floods to allow the excess water to drain” Mr. Yadav said.
He also blames SNDP contractor who, he alleges, has left the work unfinished, citing dues from the government.
“The lake is receiving 75% excess water, while only 25% of it is being drained. Even a drizzle results in the lake overflowing and entering homes at Ayyappa Colony,” he says.
