Published Jul 17, 2026 | 4:01 PM ⚊ Updated Jul 17, 2026 | 4:01 PM
Cosmopolitan Colony residents has been repeatedly appealing to the authorities. (Sreshta Ladegaam/ South First)
Synopsis: Mansoorabad’s Cosmopolitan Colony has had no running water for over eight days. When South First visited the neighbourhood, residents narrated the issues behind the dry taps, such as depleted groundwater, dried-up lakes, high-rises drilling deeper borewells, and inaction from authorities. It is alleged that HYDRAA, too, albeit inadvertently, had played a role.
“Cosmopolitan” is an adjective, meaning “belonging to all parts of the world; not restricted to any one country or its inhabitants.” For a colony in East Hyderabad’s Mansoorabad locality, the term “Cosmopolitan” has now become an embarrassing irony.
A severe water shortage has gripped the Cosmopolitan Colony at Mansoorabad since the summer of 2025. A construction activity damaged a pipeline in the area, worsening the situation last week. It halted the municipal water supply to the colony for more than eight days.
Venkat Ankam, a resident and co-founder of a non-profit, Dha3R, alleged that the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply & Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) took no steps to alleviate the water shortage despite the Residents’ Welfare Association making repeated complaints.
The depleting groundwater level has rendered the borewells useless. The residents claimed that nearly 100 borewells had dried up over the past two years, forcing them to rely entirely on HMWSSB’s water supply. The burst pipeline has cut off this supply, causing a severe crisis since 8 July.
Cosmopolitan Colony Residents’ Welfare Association president Rudra Laxmi Narasimha told South First that they were without water for cooking or showering, and were managing with the help of neighbours who had recently dug deeper borewells. They have also stopped watering the plants at homes and in the neighbourhood.
Representation Cosmopolitan Colony submitted to HMWSSB’s regional office in May 2026.
(Sreshta Ladegaam/ South Firs
“For eight days, we have been appealing to the HMWSSSB authorities to fix the pipeline issue. Two days ago, they told us it had been fixed. But we got water with lower pressure only today, which barely lasted 10 minutes. Only a few houses close to the main road got 10 to 20 litres of water,” Narasimha said.
During this year’s peak summer, the colony faced a severe water shortage, with pressure running low and some streets experiencing complete disruption. They submitted a letter to the water board’s regional general manager, explaining the causes behind the issue and urging the board to initiate appropriate steps to ensure water supply for all.
The residents pinned their hopes on the monsoon to improve the groundwater levels. The gamble, however, did not pay off. The deficit in rainfall crushed their hopes.
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Weather forecaster Telangana Weatherman said the El Niño event took a toll on the southwest monsoon, leading to irregular rainfall across the country. He predicted that Telangana is unlikely to see meaningful rain before 22 July.
HMWSSB director Ashok Reddy held a review meeting with the board officials on 14 July and directed them to prepare a contingency plan to ensure uninterrupted water supply in all three municipal corporations. The directive was issued following an increased number of water scarcity complaints across the city.
The Telangana Development Planning Society (TGPDS) said the Malkajgiri Municipal Corporation (MMC) has experienced a rainfall deficit in the range of -66 to -90 per cent in July, with several areas classified under the ‘Large Deficient’ category. Mansoorabad falls under the MMC within the LB Nagar zone. It falls under this category.
V Satyanarayana, HMWSSB director of operations for MMC, blamed the drying up of lakes for the water scarcity. The deficit monsoon did not replenish the Saroornagar Lake and Uppal’s Nalla Cheruvu, emptied by the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) for restoration. He claimed that this further depleted groundwater levels in East Hyderabad. He also asserted that there was no issue with HMWSSB’s supply.
However, the sheer number of tweets tagging HMWSSB’s account on X told a different story. The majority of complaints were regarding inconsistent municipal water supply, delays in water tanker services, lack of response from the authorities, and issues with the HMWSSB Citizen Services App.
Residents of Cosmopolitan Colony have also reported similar grievances. Ankam said that a tanker he had booked 10 days ago on the Citizen Services App was delivered after eight days.
“I kept refreshing the app, but there was no update. Some people in the colony opted for private water tanker services by paying double the amount. The water they deliver is often highly polluted,” he said.
Ankam shared the water the tanker had brought with his neighbour for 13 years, Sheikh Mehboob Ali.
“Back then, we all dug 200- to 250-feet-deep borewells. In the past few years, new residents have had to drill as deep as 1,000 to 1,300 feet. A lot of the older borewells are now running dry,” Ali said.
Santosh, a software engineer living in the colony, said that he had booked a tanker nine days ago but had not received any update yet.
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Cosmopolitan Colony’s crisis is tied to a wider problem. The major sources of water in the area are the lakes Chinna Cheruvu and Pedda Cheruvu. The two lakes have completely dried up.
A dried up Chinna Cheruvu in Mansoorabad.
(Sreshta Ladegaam/ South First)
Ankam tracked the issue through his NGO. He estimated that close to 20 colonies around Mansoorabad have been grappling with the depleted groundwater problem.
At Chinna Cheruvu, the construction of a rainwater inlet was halted midway after a local politician raised objections. The process is unfinished, and the inlet remains blocked.
Much of Pedda Cheruvu is now covered with sewage due to a stormwater drain constructed as part of the Strategic Nalla Development Project (SNDP). The drain was meant to carry rainwater into the lake but has been picking up sewage due to faulty connections. The flow is now being diverted to a nearby sewage treatment plant.
During heavy rains, the lake bund failed to contain untreated sewage, and the debris overflowed into the lakebed. Locals said that the bund lacked adequate height and could not contain the flow at its Full Tank Level. This led to sewage deposits in the lake, which could prevent rainwater from seeping into the ground.
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Pedda Cheruvu is in the Bhavani Nagar colony of Mansoorabad. The residents there, too, complained about dried-up bore wells. They are also relying on the HMWSSB water supply and tankers.
Pedda Cheruvu in Mansoorabad, dried up and parts of it is filled with sewage.
(Sreshta Ladegaam/ South First)
Sudhakar, a retired Education Department employee, told South First that he stopped renting out vacant units in his two-storey building. He felt it unfair for prospective tenants to deal with the water scarcity of such gravity.
Sudhakar lives just a few meters away from Pedda Cheruvu.
“Most of the houses in our colony do not get water from the borewells. We get municipal water at night. It starts well, but the pressure drops after 10 minutes,” he said.
Another neighbourhood, Saraswati Nagar, is also suffering from similar crises.
“I live in Saraswati Nagar. We are also facing similar issues. One reason is the authorities’ mismanagement of our lakes. Another is the nearby high-rises,” Mansoorabad Walkers’ Association president Veman Reddy said.
Reddy alleged that the newly constructed and under-construction high-rises have been drilling deeper borewells, going down to almost 3,000 feet.
“If this continues, none of the colonies in the area will have water. Even the leftover borewells will fail,” he told South First.
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HYDRAA confirmed that it has been restoring the lakes, but refuted the charge that it was responsible for the water shortage.
“It is true that we are restoring Uppal Nallacheruvu, Saroornagar Lake, and Ramanthapur Pedda Cheruvu. They are not filled with water as the work is still ongoing. But the groundwater in the area has been depleting for a while now. So, rejuvenation of lakes alone could not be blamed for the water crisis,” the authority’s public relations officer, Venugopal, told South First.
“There are 100s of lakes in the city. HYDRAA is currently in the process of restoring 14 of them. How can we be responsible for a citywide water crisis?” he asked.
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Ankam and Dha3R’s co-founder, Manoj Vidiyala, have been working to rejuvenate lakes in Mansoorabad through their organisation. They conducted cleanup drives, awareness programmes on waste segregation and litter control, and installed trash collectors.
The residents of the Mansoorabad area also actively took part in planting hundreds of saplings around the Pedda Cheruvu. The lakefront became a third space for the people, with frequent community gatherings and fitness events.
Ankam said their efforts have now been wasted by the administrative failure to safeguard the lakes.
“What’s appalling is that the borewell at the lakefront is not working. We are unable to water the trees we planted here,” he said.
Vidiyala said that they have also been helping people set up rainwater harvesting systems at their homes.
“Our goal is to ensure rainwater harvesting in every house in the locality. We managed to convince some people to set it up. But many are unwilling to do it because of the costs. Local contractors have been demanding upwards of ₹15,000 for installing one system. It would be helpful if the Municipal Corporation could provide subsidies,” he said.
Dha3R has been trying to raise funds for rainwater harvesting systems.
An HMWSSB official told South First that citizens could avail themselves of the board’s help to install rainwater harvesting systems by making an online booking.
But the Citizen Services app only allows you to geotag an existing rainwater harvesting system.
“There is no mechanism available online to obtain the board’s help to set up harvesting plants,” Vidiyala said.
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The Cosmopolitan Colony Residents’ Welfare Association has submitted multiple representations to zonal and corporation-level officials, urging them to address various civic issues in the neighbourhood. It has yet to receive a substantive response.
Citizens alleged that the local authorities have shown no interest in resolving their water scarcity issue. They claimed that official WhatsApp channels were of no use, as the local administration remained unresponsive when contacted.
“We have had no water for eight days. We are also facing other issues like overflowing drains. They stopped picking up our calls. We are fed up. We have no idea what to do now. We have prepared a representation to submit to the local MLA, Sudheer Reddy. We will soon meet him with our grievances,” Narasimha said.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
