HYDRAA Launches Major Desilting Drive to Ease Fatehnagar-Balanagar Flood Risk

The HYDRAA has launched a major desilting drive in the Fatehnagar-Balanagar industrial belt to reduce the recurring flood threat faced by the area during heavy rains. The agency has begun clearing decades of accumulated silt, garbage and other waste from a stormwater drain, with work planned across nearly three kilometres of the channel.

The move follows the realisation that clearing silt only around culverts would not provide a lasting solution to the flooding problem. Teams from the Monsoon Emergency Team (MET) and Disaster Response Force (DRF) have been deployed to undertake the work along the drain.

HYDRAA Commissioner A.V. Ranganath, accompanied by Additional Director Varla Papaiah and officials from various departments, inspected the desilting operations on Thursday. Ranganath reviewed the work being carried out with a long-arm JCB, which is being used to reach deeper portions of the drain and remove the accumulated material.

The drainage network carries stormwater from Pariki Cheruvu and IDL Cheruvu, which converge near Kukatpally before passing through Bharatnagar Bridge, Deendayal Culvert, Fatehnagar, Shobha Colony in Balanagar, Gauthamnagar, IGPuram, Begumpet and Prakashnagar before joining Hussainsagar. Another flood channel carrying water from Fox Sagar through Jeedimetla joins the main channel at Gauthamnagar.

Officials told the commissioner that the channel was originally designed to be about 25 metres wide at its beginning and more than 40 metres wide near Fatehnagar. However, encroachments have reduced its width at several locations, restricting the smooth movement of floodwater.

The situation has been worsened by six to seven feet of accumulated silt inside the drain. Even moderate rainfall can therefore result in water spilling into nearby industrial and residential areas. The discharge of sewage and industrial wastewater into the channel has further contributed to foul odours and concerns over groundwater pollution.

Ranganath directed officials to identify encroachments along the entire stretch and initiate measures for their removal. He also asked officials to hold a meeting with representatives of industrial units to find practical solutions.

Officials said several truckloads of silt are already being removed near the culverts, with much larger quantities expected to emerge once the entire three-kilometre stretch is cleared. Industrial unit owners have assured HYDRAA of their cooperation in the encroachment removal drive.