Hyderabad: To prevent urban flooding and ensure the smooth flow of water during rains, the Hyderabad Disaster Management and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) has launched a demolition drive along the IDL nala and Balkapur nala. The operation targeted illegal structures built over the nalas, carried out with strong police protection.

Following recent complaints from locals regarding encroachments causing the submergence of residential clusters, HYDRAA Commissioner AV Ranganath, along with concerned department officials, inspected both nalas. On Friday, the Commissioner personally supervised the demolition activities, ensuring coordination among departments to reclaim the nalas and mitigate flood risks.

According to HYDRAA, the Balkapur nala, which originates from Balkapur Lake in Shankarpally, traverses through the IT corridors to enter the city at Chintalbasthi, and from there crosses Thummalabasthi and Khairtabad before joining Hussain Sagar. “The nala had encroachments at many places and was restricted to 5 metres from its original 8 metres between Thummalabasti and Anandanagar, causing inundations during the rains,” stated Ranganath. HYDRAA on Friday removed a fence erected by the Sridhar function hall and granted time to some other establishments on the assurance that they would remove their encroachments. The teams also removed waste from the nala culvert at the Khairtabad intersection.

At IDL nala, encroachments had reduced its width to 2 metres from an original 7 metres. This had caused inundations in Habib Nagar, Srihari Nagar, and Shivshakti Nagar areas. Encroachments by two function halls, which had been constructed illegally, were also removed, and steps were taken to ensure free flow in the nala.