HMWSSB Announces 24-Hour Water Supply Disruption

in Parts of Hyderabad

Report By Y-Trendz

Hyderabad: Residents across several localities of eastern Hyderabad are bracing for a full day without piped drinking water, as the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) has announced a 24-hour suspension of supply beginning Monday, July 27, to carry out critical pipeline work near Uppal Junction. The disruption, one of several such planned shutdowns the water board has carried out through the year, underscores the recurring tension between the city's expanding infrastructure ambitions and the uninterrupted delivery of a basic civic service to millions of residents.

Reason for the Shutdown

According to an official statement from HMWSSB, the interruption has been necessitated by construction work on a Grade Separator, commonly referred to as a flyover, being built at Uppal Junction by the newly formed Malkajgiri Municipal Corporation (MMC). The flyover project requires engineers to carry out work on the 1600-mm diameter mild steel (MS) gravity main pipeline that forms part of Ring Main-2 under Phase-2 of the Krishna Drinking Water Supply Project (KWSP). This particular pipeline is a critical component of the city's bulk water transmission network, carrying treated water drawn from the Krishna river source into the eastern parts of Greater Hyderabad. Given the scale and depth of the pipeline, the water board has said that supply must be completely suspended while the connected civil works proceed, rather than being managed through partial or staggered cuts.

Timeline of the Disruption

HMWSSB has specified that the water supply will remain suspended starting at 10:00 am on Monday, July 27, and is expected to resume only by 10:00 am on Tuesday, July 28 — a full 24-hour window. The board has indicated that supply will not resume instantaneously across all affected areas once the work concludes; instead, restoration is expected to happen in a phased manner as pressure is built back up through the network and pipelines are flushed and tested for safety before being reopened to consumers.

Areas Likely to Be Affected

The list of affected localities released by the water board is extensive, reflecting the wide reach of the Ring Main-2 network in eastern Hyderabad. Areas expected to face either a complete cut or significantly reduced pressure include Fatehnagar, Hasmatpet, Prakashnagar, Nacharam, HMT Nagar, Birappagadda, Habsiguda, Ramanthapur, Venkata Reddy Nagar, Uppal, Mekalamandi, and Bholakpur (partially). Also on the list are Padmarao Nagar, Bansilalpet, Bouddhanagar, Tarnaka (partially), Sitaphalmandi, Mettuguda, Lalapet (partially), North Lalaguda, Addagutta, Balanagar, and areas under South Central Railway jurisdiction. Given the breadth of this list, the disruption is expected to touch a broad cross-section of both residential neighbourhoods and institutional consumers in the eastern parts of the city.

Advisory to Residents

HMWSSB has urged residents in the affected zones to store adequate water in advance and to use available supplies judiciously through the shutdown period. The board has reiterated that the suspension is a planned and necessary step tied to the larger infrastructure upgrade at Uppal Junction, rather than an emergency repair, giving residents at least some advance notice to prepare. Households, apartment complexes, and commercial establishments in the listed areas are advised to fill overhead tanks and sumps ahead of the Monday morning cut-off and to keep drinking water reserves on hand for the following day.

Context: A Recurring Pattern of Planned Shutdowns

This is not the first time this year that HMWSSB has had to impose a citywide or zonal 24-hour disruption. Earlier in the year, the board suspended supply for a similar duration to allow for the cleaning of an old balancing tank at the Asifnagar filter bed, affecting central Hyderabad localities including Nampally, Mallepally, Banjara Hills, and Domalguda. Another disruption was linked to valve replacement and leak-repair work at the Allabanda reservoir in Goshamahal. Such shutdowns have become a recurring feature of the water board's operations as it balances the maintenance of an ageing distribution network with the demands of a rapidly growing metropolitan region. With the Uppal flyover project expected to continue for an extended period, residents in the affected eastern zones may need to brace for the possibility of further planned interruptions as work on the pipeline realignment progresses.

HMWSSB has advised residents to contact its 24-hour customer care helpline or check its official channels for updates on restoration timelines once work is completed.