No Country for Potholes?
The ongoing GHMC civic workers strike is contributing to people’s agony in the city, as heaps of waste lay unattended. This is an addition to the side effects caused by the Hyderabad Metro Rail works for people.
Our counterparts in Bengaluru, who have been facing the same problem decided to do something about it. A group of techies came together and started #SelfieWithPothole.
The idea
Disgruntled citizens in Bengaluru decided that they will not face the travails of potholes anymore. Taking a cue from the latest #SelfieWithDaughter campaign, a group of techies clicked selfies with a few dangerous potholes in the background and tagged their area commissioner of the civic body, which is equivalent to our Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC).
The motive: to bring attention and tell officials that potholes cannot be overlooked.
Spillover effect?
Ask citizens in Hyderabad if they like the idea, and most of them, who travel an average distance of at least 30 km say that it is likely to work.
Elizabeth Priyanka, who commutes in her office cab and also drives quite regularly, a distance of 24 km from Alwal to Hi-tech city notes that there are “way too many potholes in the city”. She adds, “if we start the campaign here in the city, it is going to be huge. We will be filling social media spaces with hashtags like never before.”
She however is a bit sceptical. “Will posting pictures online really help? I don’t know. But if it does, I will be a happy person,” she says.
Simran Kaur, who takes the Shaikpet road everyday shares that it has been in a pathetic condition for the past two months. “I take that road and travel 25 kms by car. I can imagine the condition of those who commute on bike. I used to do that a few months ago. This #SelfieWithPothole seems like a good idea, as the officer will be tagged and that is a good way to draw attention to the problem,” she opines.
Yamini Bopanpalli is so frustrated that she says, “If something like this starts here in the city, trust me, I will click a picture of the hundreds of things that bother me when I am on my bike. I’ll probably post 20 selfies a day,” she laughs. But on a serious note, she says, “It is a good initiative. There is no harm in giving it a try.”
Dheeraj Kumar agrees with her. “We are listed among the 10 best cities in the country and look at the state of it. The potholes need to be fixed and this initiative is a good idea,” he feels.
The problem
24-year-old Nidarshana Sharma who travels almost 60 km in a day, (conducting Zumba classes at various spots in the city), feels otherwise.
She says, “It is an interesting concept. But I don’t think tagging will be of much help. The officer is going to be inundated with pictures and after a point, it is likely that he or she will be unable to keep track,” she opines.
She also suggests a plausible solution. “Along with tagging, there should be a mechanism that that tracks the progress from the officer’s end. That way, it can become an effective campaign,” she says.
Well, young denizens are up for it. Whether it contributes for a change or no, we have to wait and see.