HYDERABAD: One can still find shock and surprise in her eyes when Shivamma narrates the events of that day when she inaugurated the Balanagar flyover in Hyderabad. Shivamma says that she couldn’t believe it when MAUD Minister KT Rama Rao asked her to cut the ribbon and inaugurate the flyover, since it was not a private function and several ministers, including the TRS second-in-command, other people’s representatives and scores of officials were present on the occasion.
“Though the incident now appears as if it happened in the blink of an eye, I still remember everything. I was standing in a corner when KTR noticed me. He asked my name. Albeit awestruck already, I managed to reply. He then invited me to open the flyover. Despite getting the jitters, I somehow went near the Minister. He handed over the scissors to me. Accompanied by huge rounds of applause from all sides, I cut the ribbon and inaugurated it. This will always remain a fond memory,” an enthusiastic Shivamma, hailing from Wanaparthy, says.
Shivamma points out that at a time when no public representative would let go off any chance to inaugurate or lay foundation stone for developmental programmes, Rama Rao became a role model for all politicos by stepping aside and letting a common citizen bask in the limelight. “It was a heartwarming gesture,” says Shivamma who was a part of the construction works of the flyover. “I was overwhelmed by the respect he has for women workers. Rama Rao has made it clear that the State government will always respect the workers involved in the development of Hyderabad,” she adds. Shivamma works for the BSCPL Infrastructure Limited that constructed the 1.13-km flyover for the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA). Her colleagues said that she worked hard for the flyover without giving any scope of complaints to her superiors.
Shivamma lost her husband about 16 years back and has been raising their two daughters — Lakshmi and Pooja — on her own since then. Due to lack of jobs in their village, she, along with her children and seven other women, migrated to Balanagar some years back and has been working as a labourer since then. The situation turned tough for her when the pandemic hit the entire world. She had to struggle a lot to make both ends meet.
“While the flyover works were under progress, I started approaching BSCPLIL officials in search of a job. Finally, the management provided me employment. It helped me clear debts that had mounted up to Rs 50,000, taken as loan for my elder daughter’s wedding,” she added while thanking the BSCPLIL for coming to their rescue.
Shivamma’s request to KTR
Mentioning that though it has been several years since she started doing menial jobs, a desperate Shivamma pointed out that she has still not been able to achieve the dream of owning a house. “I request KTR to allot me and my family a double bedroom house. We will be indebted to him till our last breath,” she said. Deputy site in-charge B Sudhakar hailed her dedication towards work. He too requested the government to extend her financial assistance or sanction a double bedroom house