The citizens of Greater Hyderabad can boast of having good healthcare services, international airport, world class research and educational institutions among other things. But when it comes to monsoon, the city roads turn into virtual swimming pools. Even 11 mm or 1.1 cm of rainfall in an hour inundates the main roads resulting in traffic chaos. Houses in the low-lying areas are marooned and the inhabitants have to shift to community halls or schools. Once the rain reign is let loose, the government swings into action and distributes rice and other commodities to the evacuees. Next monsoon, the same thing happens. It's almost an action replay year after year. Ever year, civic body officials come up with a "better combat strategy" and claim that the flow of rain water through the major nallahs has increased. But in reality, the situation hardly changes. A poor storm-water drainage network coupled with inefficient municipal administration in tackling the urban flooding make things worse. The 400-year-old crumbling storm-water drain network cannot take the load of the increasing water usage by people, officials said. But, even drain networks which are two to three decades old cannot sustain the downpour. Hyderabad is not the only city to face this problem as urban flooding is a global phenomenon. But many cities have taken up the issue on a war-footing and Hyderabad is still lagging far behind. Not that the Greater Hyderabad municipal corporation does not have a solution to urban flooding. It has two full-fledged reports, one on the improvement of major drains and another on minor drains. Over Rs 1 crore has been spent by the corporation to get these reports but the city still continues to suffer. These reports were prepared after the devastating August 2000 floods which marooned most parts of the city. The GHMC engineer-in-chief, Dr P. Panduranga Rao told this correspondent: "Works to improve water flow in major and minor nallahs are in full swing. We are getting a master plan for the drainage network in the entire Greater Hyderabad. The contract has been given to Voyant Consultants." Asked what would happen to the Kirloskar's report, he said the new master plan was for the surrounding municipalities which have been merged with the core city to form the Greater Hyderabad. "Both the reports would be clubbed and work will start accordingly," he said. The Pune-based Kirloskar Consultants conducted a study of major and minor storm-water drain network in the city and submitted its report to avoid flooding of roads and low lying areas. The Consultants had recommended widening of major nallahs to avoid flooding of low-lying areas and also for smooth passage of rain water from the internal storm water drain network in the city. Though officials claim that the project is underway to widen the storm-water drains, it is far from truth. Several encroachments on both sides of the nallahs are a major hurdle in this regard. There seems to be no respite from urban flooding for citizens at least in the near future. To put it straight, citizens of Greater Hyderabad will continue to suffer from the stagnation of rain water on the major thoroughfares, smaller streets and inundation of low-lying areas will leave thousands homeless. The Kirloskar Consultants had recommended remodelling and widening of nallahs, removal of encroachments, construction of retaining walls and measures to prevent encroachments in future. The special collector (nallahs), Ms Sarada Devi, on deputation to GHMC said: "If it was only removal of encroachments, we can do it in a month. But as per government instructions, we have to provide rehabilitation to the evicted. To make things worse, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board's (HMWS&SB) road digging spree goes ahead unabated. Most of the times, these dug up roads are not repaired properly and act as veritable death traps during the rainy season. Lack of proper coordination, planning and execution between the HMWS&SB and other government agencies cause severe inconvenience to the citizens. Longevity of projects is another matter of concern. Most projects continue for years only to add to the woes of the masses.For example, the Strengthening and Improvement of Sewerage System (SAS) project, estimated at a cost of Rs 150 crore is going on for two years. As part of this project, roads have been dug up at several parts of the city. Likewise, work for laying of pipelines to supply water from Krishna Phase-II is going on for two years. Open manholes also serve as death traps during the monsoon. Some have covers which are either below the road level or jut out posing hazards to motorists. There are over 1.10 lakh manholes maintained by the GHMC and another 1.20 lakh manholes by the Water Board. Officials of both the authorites claim that pre-monsoon inspection is in process and they would ensure that no manhole would be left uncovered by the time monsoon hits the twin cities. But providing manholes with proper covers may not be sufficient to save the lives. The authorities and local people must be alert and keep vigil. A bank employee was washed near Amberpet, after local residents removed the manhole to clear stagnated rain water. Both the GHMC and Water Board have not done enough to create awareness among the citizens about the danger of removing manhole covers during the monsoons. Not to be left behind, the Central Discom too inflicts its share of miseries on the citizens. A single downpour, and stretches of the city plunge into darkness. About Rs 50 crore is spent on maintenance work, including rectification of insulators, bushings, transformers and feeders particularly before the monsoon. And yet, all it needs is a drizzle for the power supply to be disrupted. So even as the skies get cloudy, citizens should get ready for the annual hazard which comes in packages.