Hyderabad: The new water pipelines at Manikonda, which are set to carry water to over 2,000 residents of the Secretariat Colony on the city's outskirts, have become breeding grounds for mosquitoes and rats.

Residents are now complaining of drain water lying stagnant at locations through which the pipelines pass as digging work has been left unfinished for the past six months.

“These pipelines, for drinking water, were laid about six months ago and were scheduled to be operational by May. But the condition of these new pipelines today is a sorry sight. The ends of these pipelines are not covered and most of the pipes are submerged in stagnant drain water. Drainage water has entered these pipelines and mosquitoes and rats are breeding in them,” said one resident, R. Pratap Narayan.

Another resident of the colony said, “If the concerned department is not willing to complete the work within the stipulated time, it should have at least ensured the dug up area is covered. That will even prevent motorists from falling into it.”

When contacted, G. Rameshwar Rao, director (operations), Water Board, said, “Yes, the work is incomplete. However, we will look into the issue and check if the drainage water is entering the pipelines.”