HMWSSB plans sensor alerts for overflowing manholes in Hyderabad

HYDERABAD: It's a common sight to find an overflowing drain or a manhole on the roads during your commute. Chances are that you may have, more often than not, either hurtled through the puddles formed by the flood of drain water spilling it on passers-by; or been drenched in the stenchy water when others demonstrated their ill-mannered driving skill through the sewer.

How much irritation it would cause needs no explanation. Well. Hyderabad Metro Water Supply & Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) is close to finding a permanent solution to the menace. At least, a year from now, one can expect the main arterial roads of the city to witness minimal nuisance of overflowing sewer. Not that the overflow or ruption of manholes would be contained. But, such a scene would alert the HMWSSB authorities to address the issue ASAP.

HMWSSB is seriously contemplating installing sensors on sewer manholes to get an alert at a central control room to be installed at the Board's corporate office. Manholes, overflowing with drainage water, are causing unhygienic conditions and inconvenience to vehicular traffic and pedestrians, especially on arterial roads projecting the city in a poor light.

"With a view to preventing such a discharge, we have been attempting to install sensors under the lids of the manholes, connecting the same remotely through GPS (Geographical Positioning System) for alerts," according to Satyanarayana, Executive Director HMWSSB.

The Board, which has created an alert system at ground level service reservoirs and elevated level service reservoirs for the drinking water ecosystem in the city, are considering installing sensors to manholes. Whenever there is a choking of sewer lines, resulting in backflow and overflow of drainage water, the sensors would raise an alarm at the central control. A team of officials recently visited a unit in Delhi where the sensors are manufactured and observed a demonstration.

The sensor would be fixed to the lid-safety grill and the same would be connected remotely. There are about five lakh manholes in the HMWSSB area and the Board is considering fixing the sensors at important places like Raj Bhavan Road, Pragathi Bhavan Road, Secretariat and other major roads to begin with and observe their performance.

In the urban agglomeration area serviced by HMWSSB, more than 10,000 km of sewage system is laid and over four lakh manholes are built under which over one lakh are on major roads. Issues around these manholes are rapidly increasing in the monsoon season.

There are increasing cases of manholes overflowing, waterlogging, lids being broken or not being present at all on manholes on the roads, causing hardship to the public. During the rains last season in September, one Rajni Kanth (42), a software engineer who went out amid very heavy rain to fetch curd, fell in an open manhole and was washed away; and the body was recovered later. Manholes were described as traps of death or accident on many an occasion.

In view of these increasing issues, it was decided that a new initiative – installing a sensor in the manholes which would immediately alert officials when there is an issue – is contemplated by the HMWSSB.

Over 4,000 people are working round the clock on complaints received by the HMWSSB. However, during the rainy season, the management of the complaints received from 211 circles is becoming difficult.

Not receiving information on time, the general public are taking matters into their control and are opening lids of manholes without permission, or breaking them have also become a barrier to officials for proper management.

In view of this, the water board is planning a pilot project of installing sensors to solve such problems.Through the microchip, the command control cell would immediately receive information. Local officials would also immediately be alerted.