HYDERABAD: The apathy of district administration towards the safety of its people is quite visible in Gandhi Nagar ward. The drain that carries polluted water from Hussainsagar passes through the ward and several areas are situated adjacent to it. Such is the situation that several houses have their pillars right in the drain. The state government has not bothered to construct a retaining wall along the drain.
Umesh, a BJP leader from Gandhinagar, says: “Only about 5-10 per cent of the length of the nala that passes through Gandhinagar ward has retaining wall which was constructed over a decade ago. We have approached officials of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation several times but to no avail. Whenever there are heavy rains, houses along the drain get inundated.”
Lack of storm water drains in many areas leads to their inundation during the monsoon. One such area is Arundhati Nagar. Roads from nearby areas slope towards Arundhati Nagar. Residents say whenever it rains heavily over the city, water from adjacent areas runs into Arundhati Nagar leaving the colony water-logged. A threat of outbreak of water-borne diseases looms large in the area.
Narsing Rao, a Congress leader from Sabarmathi Nagar, also located along the Hussainsagar drain in Gandhi Nagar, says: “Sometimes the water from drain raises a peculiar stink which spreads till a long distance. We suspect there is some illegal dumping of chemicals or other waste. We also conducted dharnas on the issue several times. However the government authorities have not checked why does the smell emanate.”
Lack of streetlights is another major civic issue in Gandhinagar as a result of which some areas plunge into darkness as soon as the sun sets. Umesh says that after surveying the ward last year he submitted a proposal to the GHMC for 86 streetlights. However, he says, till now only six new lights have been erected in the ward. Meanwhile, Chikadpally in Gandhinagar ward is suffering the plight of bad roads. V Ramesh, a resident of Chikkadpally says, “The street and even main roads are in bad shape. There are manholes which suddenly pop up on roads or have broken covers making it difficult for motorists.”
Gandhi Nagar residents can contact their corporator at 9347033944.