Preventive measures should begin now if Hyderabad is to be saved from future disasters
By Dr Narasimha Reddy Donthi
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Floods in Hyderabad are entirely government made, if not human made.This disaster has been in the making for the past few years in the name of development and urban growth. It is the direct result of skewed government policies vis-a-vis urban development.
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Hyderabad does not have a comprehensive, environment-friendly Master Plan, which alone should have been the basis for development of the city. In general, urbanmaster plan is based on environmental and geographical principles of the city area. By ignoring the development of such a Master Plan, government has set the tone of the present and similar disasters in the future.
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This disaster, as it is clear to everybody, is due to siltation of tanks, decrease in water storage capacities (impounding capacity) and other water channels, encroachment of nalas, lakes and other water bodies, and choking of streams, and storm water drains.
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Despite such a once-in-a-century phenomenal disaster, government seems to be brushing this aside as a rare phenomenon. However, each disaster is an indicator of the scale of the next disaster to come.
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