HYDERABAD: It seems Covid-19 is going to have little or no impact on the upcoming GHMC elections. With cases down to three-digit numbers in the State and GHMC limits, the pandemic’s horror has mostly faded from the public memory.
Express spoke to residents of Alwal, Secunderabad, Gudimalkapur, Moghalpura and other areas, who noted that more than the pandemic it was the rain-related havoc and the irregularities in disbursement of relief, which has irked people.
“In the Old City, so many including my own family suffered. In fact, no development issue is finding space because the contesting parties are focussing only on polarising voters. In Moghalpura division, there is not even one independent candidate,” said Abdul Rehman from Moghalpura.
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Many note that the flood took precedence as an issue in public memory over Covid-19. “Corona was a big issue in July. Even now, there is a fear of the second wave and the Basti Dawakhana in our area is still not functional. However, people are angry with the corporator for not giving flood relief to the affected families,” noted the B Padma from Venkatapuram Basti in Alwal. It may be recalled that between June last week and July midweek, GHMC alone reported 1,000 to 1,500 cases in a day, now it has fallen to 150.
A similar sentiment was shared by Ram Chandar, from Gudimalkapur slum. “For us, more than the pandemic it is the issue of 2-BHK houses. We are ragpickers and have accepted that we will be affected by Covid-19, however, we want that at least our children get a proper home to stay,” he said.
Noted expert on governance issues, Padmanabha Reddy from Forum for Good Governance said, “The Opposition has not even raised these issues. For a city with 1,600 plus slums where 30 lakh reside, with drainage issues and poor roads, the discourse is like that of a Parliamentary election with no action plan for the localities,” he said.
Others feel that in Old City, the mandate may be a fractured one. “People have suffered a lot during Covid-19 and floods. If not for the flood relief, the ruling party would lose,” said Jameela Nishat, from Shaheen Women’s Collective.