Kurnool: The monsoon rains have exposed the inadequate sanitation facilities in Kurnool city, compounded due to lack of a proper underground drainage (UGD) system. While several district headquarters in the state already have UGDs, Kurnool remains neglected on this front.
Across many colonies, clogged canals are causing dirty water to spill onto roads and enter homes. Despite repeated dredging works and allocation of significant funds, the situation has hardly improved. Residents complain that this year’s dredging of canals has been mostly superficial, with tasks not attended to properly.
The civic body employs around 1,100 sanitation workers. They are tasked with door-to-door garbage collection in the mornings and dredging of sewers in the afternoons. Sanitation inspectors are expected to oversee the process. But locals complain that despite the large workforce, garbage piles up across the city, while canals remain blocked.
Such negligence is having an impact across major areas. The canals along Gandhi Nagar main road remain clogged. The stagnant rainwater poses difficulties for pedestrians, residents and motorists. From Rajvihar to Gandhi Nagar and up to Kids World, sewer canals are overflowing even after a moderate rainfall. The problem is particularly severe in Weaker Sections’ Colony, Ganesh Nagar, Krishna Nagar, Abbas Nagar and Lakshmi Nagar.
Low-lying colonies in the Tungabhadra river catchment area — including Old Bus Stand, Budhawarpet, Pandi Padu and B.R. Reddy Colony — are severely affected, with rainwater entering houses.
With 52 municipal divisions, over 600 km of open sewer canals, and a population of 6.5 lakh, Kurnool’s reliance on an outdated drainage system is proving unsustainable. The city still depends on natural outlets like the Tungabhadra and Handri rivers, KC Canal, and Vakkileru stream to handle stormwater.
Experts say these will continue to remain grossly insufficient unless an integrated underground drainage network is laid. Periodic dredging of canals will continue to provide only temporary relief. Without structural solutions, clogged canals, waterlogging, and sanitation hazards will continue troubling the residents of Kurnool every monsoon season.
