Hyderabad: The Musi River flood created chaos in Hyderabad on Saturday, submerging several colonies and disrupting transport across the city. Officials said the river flowed at its highest level in 25 years, cutting off bridges and flooding houses near MGBS, Chaderghat and Moosarambagh.
Entire localities went under water. Ten colonies in Malakpet and two in Amberpet faced inundation, leaving nearly 2,000 houses surrounded by floodwaters. The bridges at MGBS, Chaderghat, Moosarambagh and Gourelli remained submerged, while the Manchirevula causeway in Narsingi was blocked. Consequently, traffic in the city came to a standstill as vehicles lined up for kilometres.
The heavy downpour over the past two days also caused casualties. In Narayanpet, a boy died when a shed collapsed. Meanwhile in Wanaparthy, police rescued a man being swept away. In Ranga Reddy district, locals pulled out a person whose car was caught in a flooded stream near Appareddyguda.
The sudden surge came from upstream. At Shankarpally, 25 kilometres above Gandipet, floodwaters reached 16.5 feet, the highest in decades. Within hours, Osman Sagar filled up, and engineers lifted all 15 gates by nine feet to release 35,600 cusecs at 8 p.m. The floodwaters reached Hyderabad by 11 p.m., surrounding MGBS and spilling onto the platforms. Panic spread as stranded passengers rushed out since officials gave no prior warning. An estimated two TMC of water was released within 24 hours.
Rescue and relief operations intensify
Rescue teams worked across the city. At Puranapul, a temple went under water, leaving the priest and three others stranded until police used a crane to rescue them. Bapu Ghat at Langar Houz also flooded. At Nagole, floodwaters touched the boundary of Shilparamam, while Uppal Bhagath layout turned into a lake.
In Chaderghat, GHMC officials supplied food by drone to families in Rasoolpura who refused to vacate. Commissioner R.V. Karnan said teams shifted 1,460 residents from Musanagar, Rasoolpura, Vinayaka Veedhi, Shankar Nagar, Padma Colony and other areas to 10 relief camps where food and water were provided.
Further downstream, inflows swelled reservoirs. At Musi reservoir in Nalgonda district, the water level rose sharply with 41,448 cusecs arriving. By Saturday morning, engineers lifted nine crest gates to release 44,671 cusecs downstream. Officials confirmed that the reservoir stored 3.96 TMC against a total capacity of 4.46 TMC.
Public transport collapsed. Floodwaters entered MGBS, submerging entrances and platforms. Passengers who arrived for Dasara travel were stranded after RTC suspended services temporarily. With buses cancelled, travellers returned home, while officials arranged alternative services from the city outskirts.
