HYDERABAD: With the GHMC head office under the grip of Covid-19, citizens are struggling to get their grievances addressed. More than 15 staffers of various wings of the GHMC have tested positive for the virus, and as a result, the authorities concerned have imposed restrictions on public entry. Outsiders are not permitted in the office, except during visiting hours from 3 pm to 5 pm.
Citizens visiting the head office with grievances pertaining to town planning, land acquisition, engineering, health and sanitation and housing, are asked to leave the office premises by security personnel, and to return during visiting hours. Even mediapersons are being turned away.
“I came to the office to submit a representation to the town planning authorities regarding an unauthorised construction in Chilkalguda. The security personnel did not let me go in due to Covid-19. I will have to come here again during the visiting hours,” Ramesh Kumar, a Hyderabad resident, said.
Another resident described a similar predicament. “I had come to the office to meet health and sanitation authorities over the garbage menace in Uppuguda but I was not allowed to go in,” said Abbas Ali, a resident of Kandikal Gate.