The Kukatpally Nala has narrowed from its original 40-metre width to as little as nine metres in several stretches, prompting the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) to review encroachment removal and clean-up work in the Balanagar and Fatehnagar industrial areas.
HYDRAA Commissioner A.V. Ranganath held the review meeting with officials from the Cyberabad and Malkajgiri Municipal Corporation (MMC), along with representatives of industrial cooperative societies. The discussions focused on removing encroachments raised along the drain line and clearing silt and debris from the nala.
The channel carries stormwater from Pariki Cheruvu and IDL lakes, as well as runoff from Foxsagar, before flowing towards Hussainsagar. Officials said the removal of silt, debris and encroachments was necessary to restrict flooding in the industrial areas.
The narrowing of the nala is particularly significant because the affected stretches form part of a stormwater route receiving flows from multiple water bodies. According to the details discussed at the meeting, the drain’s width has been reduced to nine metres in several locations because of encroachments.
The affected industrial-area stretch extends across the jurisdictions identified in the meeting. About 2.2 kilometres of the drain falls under CMC limits, while another two kilometres comes under MMC limits, according to the report. The supplied account does not provide a combined project cost, a detailed execution schedule or the number of encroachments marked for removal.
Representatives of the industrial cooperative societies said they would cooperate with the authorities in clearing the encroachments. They also asked officials to begin work in the areas that are most vulnerable to flooding and called for a permanent solution to the recurring problem.
The review places the Kukatpally Nala within a wider municipal coordination challenge: the channel receives stormwater from several upstream lakes but passes through more than one administrative jurisdiction before reaching Hussainsagar. The immediate work under discussion involves restoring the drain’s carrying capacity through desilting, debris removal and action against structures on the drain line.
The next steps will depend on the authorities identifying priority flood-prone locations and beginning the planned clean-up and encroachment-removal work. The review meeting did not specify a completion deadline or confirm when field operations would start.
