This is why your drains overflow

Every year during the monsoon the drains overflow and colonies get inundated with sewerage water. With just 400 odd workers who get into the manholes, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) is saddled with lack of staff.

• 788 workers from the municipal corporation were merged with HMWS&SB in 1998, of which 200 retired but there has been no fresh recruitment
• The masks procured by the Water Board cannot be used as one cannot enter the man hole as the size is too big
• For 2,265 km sewerage line there are just about 500 workers. Out of which most of the time a majority are absent citing health issues

Retirement, absenteeism, lack of proper equipment and health problems are reasons cited for the sad state of affairs as far as cleaning the drains are concerned. In 1988, 788 sewerage workers from the municipal corporation joined the board and about 200 retired.

The Water Board has not recruited workers. K Satyanarayana, general secretary, HMWS&SB staff and welfare union (INTUC), says, “There is a need to have one worker per km of sewerage line and the cleaning of silt should take place not just from the man hole but flushed out even from the pipes.”

In 1995, a survey conducted by TATA consultants noted that the extent of sewerage line in the city is 2,265 km. Ramulu an employee says, “The morale of the workers who go into the man holes is low. There is no incentive and the equipment provided is ill-fitting.”

The HMWSS&B staff in 1988 was 6,468 and the population in Hyderabad was close 70 lakh. The total number of employees today is about 4,500 and the population has increased to 1.25 crore. Ramachandran, a social scientist, says, “The city is expanding and bursting at the seams but there is no effort to modernise the Water Board, recruit staff and have state-of-the-art equipment.”

Workers unwilling to use masks The diameter of a manhole is 21 inches but once a worker wears a mask it becomes impossible to get inside the man hole as it becomes 24 inches. Krishnaiah, (name changed on request), says, “One cannot move freely after wearing the mask and track also the workers are not used to wearing them. There is a need to conduct awareness programmes and have well-fitting masks.”

The equipment is rotting at the store in Gosha Mahal as no one wants to use. A worker says, “The whole set including the track costs about Rs 5,000 but the money incurred is a waste. The Board should have conducted a study and procured masks after inspecting the size of manhole covers.” About 50 workers died in the last 10 years.

Nizam era manhole covers were better The Nizam era manhole covers were 300 kg in weight and were air tight, the present cement ones weigh about 100 to 150 kg and gases from the man holes emit from the covers.

Out of the 5,000 odd Nizam era manhole covers, only 200 remain. An official at the Gosha Mahal store informs that the cement ones crack and break often and as a result about 150 lids are bought every six months.

In most areas of the city it is the HMWS&SB that maintains sewer lines and in the few areas that GHMC workers take care of the sewerage work, officials of the corporation said that they have forbid workers from entering the manholes fearing death. An official said, “We do not want to take the risk.”

By T P Venu