Himayat Sagar gates to be lifted after 4 pm; red alert issued

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad water board on Tuesday has issued a red alert when the water levels in the Himayatsagar reservoir upstream have reached the brim following heavy rains in catchment areas.

Floodgates of Himayatsagar reservoir will be opened on Tuesday any time after 4 pm, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) managing director Dana Kishore said as quoted by Telangana Today.

The alert is issued when the water level touches 1,762.75 feet and the gates are opened if the level goes up to 1,763 feet. On Tuesday, the water level at the reservoir was recorded at 1,762.80 feet against the FTL of 1,763.50 feet.

The reservoir capacity is 2.97 TMC and by Tuesday morning, the water level reached 2.753 TMC. 

The heavy rains that swept the city and its surroundings last week caused the water bodies to receive heavy flows.

When the gates open, the downstream areas of Bandlaguda, Sun City colony, Kismatpur and Boudeville will be affected. “We’ve already alerted people in low-lying areas,” said an HMWSSB official who monitors water levels.

The reservoir gates were opened earlier twice a decade later in October 2020, when the city experienced flooding.