The flood in Hyderabad has badly hit major IT companies that remain paralysed with only around 50% of their staff reporting to office. Incessant rains for the last one week have battered the city and rescuing it has become the biggest challenge for IT and Municipal Administration Minister K.T. Rama Rao, popularly known as KTR, who is also Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s only son.
KTR had taken up the responsibility of improving logistics and infrastructure in the city six months ago. The current floods have dealt a body-blow to his image, as his 100-day road map issued in March for improving overall living condition in the city stands exposed. People of the city, particularly the youth and the IT workforce, have been targeting KTR in the social media for the last few days for the worst ever crisis in the city.
“Is this a world class city?”; “Not Hyderabad, but Hydera-Sagar” (sea); “Where is KTR when colonies are marooned?”; “We have no food and ration since yesterday”—are some of the comments on social media that went viral. The intensity of the public outcry on social media was so strong that KTR spent almost 18 hours on the streets and coordinated rescue works from the GHMC control room till midnight of Thursday. All the city MLAs and municipal ward members too were asked to keep vigil and take up relief works. “We can understand the anger of the public, but we will tackle the situation,” KTR told The Sunday Guardian.
The Army’s help has been sought as the Greater Hyderabad Corporation (GHMC) is ill-equipped to handle the situation where a record 24 cm rains have been recorded. The flood fury is unlikely to abate soon as heavy rains are predicted for a few more days due to a cyclonic depression in the Bay of Bengal coupled with a revived monsoon over this part of the country.
Hundreds of colonies in Hyderabad are marooned in floods, thousands of families cut off and artillery roads washed off. CM KCR has ordered three days’ holidays to schools and colleges. All the main streets in Hi-Tech city and Madhapur, which houses most of the IT companies, are flooded and roads are washed out, making travel a hell. Other posh areas like Kukatpally, Nizampet and Punjagutta suffered a lot as floodwaters entered residential and commercial apartments.