Anjali Gardens residents raise alarm over sewage, stormwater flow in Manikonda
HYDERABAD: Residents of Anjali Gardens in Manikonda say a pipeline laid in 2024 has diverted stormwater runoff and untreated sewage from neighbouring areas into their low-lying colony. They fear the problem will worsen when a major apartment complex nearby becomes occupied.
Anjali Gardens Welfare Association(AGWA) has requested the Cyberabad Municipal Corporation (CMC) to divert the flow through alternative routes. However, the association says letters to the CMC Deputy Commissioner and other officials have gone unanswered.
“Water flows down to us”
Under the condition of anonymity, Residents of Anjali Gardens Welfare Association(AGWA) said the colony is located in a low-lying area where surface runoff from Diamond Hills, KNR Hills, Lakshmi Nagar Colony, Lanco Circle, Mallanna Temple, and nearby neighborhoods accumulates. Furthermore, residents said the natural drainage channel that once carried this water, the historic Bulkapur Nala, has been encroached upon, with no visible trace remaining in some sections.
According to residents last year the road from Diamond Hills to Anjali Gardens experienced severe flooding during heavy rainfall, with water accumulating 10 to 15 feet deep for about four hours. Notably, residents said this happened even after the new drainage infrastructure was completed. While rainfall has been lower this year, they cautioned that this may not continue.
According to residents, work began around the 2024 election period on a pipeline described as a stormwater drain from Lakshmi Nagar Colony towards Mallanna Temple. However, residents allege the pipeline was effectively connected to the existing underground sewer network, channeling both stormwater and untreated sewage from Lakshmi Nagar Colony, Diamond Hills, and Lanco Circle into a 980 mm pipeline in Anjali Gardens.
Further residents made several allegations, including that the drainage pipeline was laid without following the proper tender process and while the election Model Code of Conduct was in force. In addition, one of the resident said he objected because a cement concrete (CC) road built the previous year at a cost of about Rs 55 lakh was at risk of being damaged. However, the work was completed.
Fears for the future
The bigger concern is drainage capacity. For example, AGWA residents cited Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) norms that require high-rise developments to follow a zero-discharge approach, with operational sewage treatment plants (STPs). Yet, they said some towers are being constructed without these systems.
According to residents by rough estimate, if 10,000 to 15,000 flats are constructed and each generates about 2,000 liters of wastewater daily, the total volume would be around 200,000 liters per day. Given these numbers, they questioned whether the existing pipeline, which runs alongside roads 20 to 30 feet wide that were laid out 30 to 40 years ago, can handle this load. Further residents also warned that if sewage treatment plants fail or become overloaded, untreated sewage could flow into Anjali Gardens.
Residents already report foul odors, mosquitoes, stray dogs, and snakes. Moreover, residents said the odors could intensify significantly once the apartment complex is fully occupied, and that children are already falling ill.
What residents want
AGWA residents says it is not opposed to the apartment project or to any political party. Instead, their main demands are to divert stormwater and sewage from Lakshmi Nagar Colony away from Anjali Gardens using alternative pipeline routes, restore and protect the Bulkapur Nala, and address all encroachments so stormwater flows in its natural direction.
AGWA has written to the Deputy Commissioner, Narsingi Circle 45, and other officials, and has begun posting on social media, but there is still no proper response. Nonetheless, he added that residents will continue to follow up on the issue, even if it takes a year.
