Musi Floods 1908: Humanity rules over religion

September 28, 2008
By Syed Akbar
Thousands of people suffered because of the Musi Deluge. Death struck one and all, irrespective of his or her religion.
Soon after the floods Hindus and Muslims gathered into groups and formed special committees to organise relief and rehabilitation of the affected. The Nizam had broken the tradition and offered special prayers to the river goddess to invoke her blessings. Incidentally, the suggestion came from Muslim religious scholars
themselves.
City historians say after the floods Hindu priests and Moulvis approached the Nizam saying that the river goddess was angry and she should propitiate her.
The Nawab dressed in traditional Hindu costumes and kumkum on his face offered valuable gifts of a saree, gold, silver, diamonds, pearls and kumkum to the river, amidst the chanting of mantras. The Musi, which was receding already showed perceptible reduction in depth.
The Nizam opened kitchens were opened in various parts of the city and they functioned till October 13. In all 6.25 lakh people benefited from the relief camp. Eminent engineer Sir Viswesarayya was invited to study the flood conditions and suggest measures for permanent prevention of floods. The result was Osmansagar
and Himayatsagar.
The Nizam and Sir Viswesarayya had tamed the Musi and it continues to be calm. But the encroachments on the river banks and tank beds in and around the city continue to threaten Hyderabad, should there be a heavy downpour. Musi may not cause havoc again, but if Hyderabad witnesses another calamity, it will be man-made, environmentalists warn.
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Musi Floods 1908: Fact File

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Many Hyderabadis know that a huge tree in Kosalwadi (now Osmania General
Hospital) had saved the lives of several people. But what many do not know
is that several trees were washed away in the floods unable to bear the
heavy human load, with scores of people climbing on their branches.
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A big tree at Kolsawadi to which about 150 people had clung for safety was
undermined by vortex action and floated down the stream with its human
burden. A large house near the same locality saved several lives.
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Water rose within two feet of the roof of the Victoria Zenana Hospital
(maternity hospital). Luckily, there were no casualties. All the women
patients were evacuated.
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More people were killed by falling houses, than by drowning.
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Around 15,000 people perished in the floods. Over 80,000 houses were damaged.
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The combined population of Hyderabad in 1908 was 1,92,861.
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The heavy rainfall was due to a cyclonic storm in the Bay of Bengal.
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The Nizam ordered relief works. Contributions poured in from all over
India and British Empire. About Rs 2 lakh was collected. The Nizam himself
donated Rs 4 lakh from his personal wealth.

Musi Floods 1908: What really happened that fateful day

September 28, 2008
By Syed Akbar
It was September 28, 1908. Indians elsewhere were waging the war of Independence
against the Britishers. Hyderabadis, then under the Nizam's regime, woke up to death and destruction. The sight was pathetic and words beggar description. It was this day, exactly 100 years ago, the calm Musi turned furious and vented its anger on all those that came its way.
Over 15,000 people lay dead and 80,000 houses were razed to the ground. The calamity
was of great magnitude. Hyderabad had not witnessed such a sorrowful event before. The city had received heavy rainfall for just two days beginning September 26, 1908. The casualty was quite high as both the banks of Musi were thickly populated even in those days.As is the case with every river, Musi, otherwise a calm and tame river, turns furious once in a few years. Meteorologist have found that suddenly at intervals of 20 or 30 years, the river becomes swollen for a few hours, overflows and submerges the settlements along the banks. Again, once in 50 or 100 years a more serious flood occurs, sweeping away a great width of the city and levying a heavy toll of human life, cattle and property.
"On September 28, 1908 the river rose to 15 to 20 feet high in the inhabited area on both sides enveloping houses and property. Thousands of people were killed and about one quarter of the entire population was rendered homeless," points out senior city historian Muhammad Safiullah.

In those days the Musi was spanned by four bridges, Puranapul (built in 1578) and
Mussallam Jung, Afzalgunj and Chaderghat, all built in 1860s. According to him, the monsoon rainfall since June 1 that year had been less than normal.
There was no rain till September 26 afternoon. At about 4 pm a sharp shower fell for half-an hour, followed by a drizzle up to 6.30 p.m.
After 9 pm it rained again for another half-an hour. This was not a sharp shower. Then at 11.30 pm. a heavy burst followed which continued well onto the morning. And by 8 am. on Sunday, a rainfall of over six inches was recorded. Rain, now heavy and now light, with occasional stoppages continued throughout Sunday.
After midnight on Sunday it developed into a cloud burst over an extensive area. There is no record about the intensity of this burst, but all accounts agree that it was exceptionally heavy.
"Before this occurred, the tanks in the catchment of the river were full and the ground everywhere supersaturated. The rain descended in sheets, flooded the small tanks and over burdened their weak weirs. As a result, one tank after another gave way. The largest of these intercepting tanks are the Palmakul tank and the Parti reservoir, both in the Yentair river valley. The heaviest rainfall was recorded at Shamshabad in the vicinity of these two tanks. The rain fall gauge on Monday morning was 12.80 inches in 24 hours.
Never since regular rainfall records began to be maintained that the total daily rainfall exceeded even half this amount," Safiullah said while browsing through old chronicles on the Musi deluge.
At 6 am on Sunday there was about four feet water in the river. By 10 am the water level went up to 20 ft. By 12 noon water flowed from bank to bank and began to enter houses in Kolsawadi.
This is the present site of Osmania General Hospital. By 4 pm the water stood several feet over the Kolsawadi road. The first serious warning came at about 2 am on Monday morning. Water headed up behind Puranapul and breached the city rampart wall on the west side at about 3 am.
Sudden dangerous rise began at about 7 am and by 9 am the bridges had all been
overtopped. By 10 am the Imlibun island was completely under water. The greatest depth of water above the general bed level of the river varied from 38 to 45 feet. The flood receded by 8 pm but not before creating havoc. More people were killed by falling houses, than by drowning.

Musi Deluge 100 years later: Lessons not learnt yet

September 28, 2008
By Syed Akbar
One hundred years have passed since Hyderabad witnessed the fury of the otherwise tame Musi on September 28, 1908. The city, then a small royal town with no technological advancement, was ill-prepared for the unprecedented havoc. And even now, 100 years later, modern megapolis Hyderabad continues to be ill-prepared to meet any eventuality, in case the heavens decide to open up once again.
The Nizam, despite the limited technology and infrastructure available in those times, woke up quickly to the problem and got two major reservoirs, Osmansagar and
Himayatsagar, constructed across the river to protect the city.

The reservoirs saved Hyderabad of those days. With the haphazard growth of the city and encroachments on its river and tank beds in the recent decades, the problem is back to square one.
The then rulers had learnt lessons from the Musi floods and made quick amends. But the State government continues to sit on the flood mitigation plan that was drawn up eight years ago, after Hyderabad witnessed floods during August 2000, almost reminiscent of the great deluge of 1908. The city is still unable to take more than 12 cm of rainfall in a day.

All the grandiose plans of the State government to protect Hyderabadis from heavy floods continue to gather dust in official cupboards with no sight of immediate implementation, even as the Hyderabadis pay homage to the victims of the Great Musi Deluge that had left human suffering and misery in its wake.