HYDERABAD: If it were not for the mud, the ankle-twisting potholes and the sheer frustration, Pradhampuri Colony could almost be mistaken for a local obstacle course championship. The monsoon has turned Sainikpuri’s roads into something less resembling civic infrastructure and more resembling a daring test of patience and endurance.
Stretching over two kilometres in Pradhampuri Colony, the so-called ‘roads’ are now an experimental mix of potholes, sludge and rainwater. “You wanna take a bumpy ride, come to Pradhampuri Colony,” said Kirti, a resident, carefully picking her way through a particularly waterlogged stretch. Complaints have been lodged repeatedly, yet the stretch remains untouched for over a year, leaving commuters to wonder: where does all our tax money go?
AS Rao Nagar is no better. The road right in front of a private hospital is riddled with potholes, turning routine ambulances and hospital-goers into a test of skill “Every time it rains, you can’t even see where the road ends. Ambulances struggle right outside the hospital,” said Murali, a pharmacy worker watching the chaos unfold.
Near Kapra lake, roads have been swallowed by sludge, forcing drivers into a precarious single lane — a perfect recipe for accidents, if not extreme patience. “We thought roads were for a smooth commute. But here in Netaji Nagar and Pradhampuri Colony, roads belong to sludge,” quipped a commuter, manoeuvring through yet another murky puddle.
Residents allege that despite Sainikpuri being a prominent residential belt, it has been treated like an afterthought. Temporary pothole-filling exercises with mud are no match for the monsoon, and the frustration among locals is palpable.
Despite being a prominent residential belt, Sainikpuri continues to show how civic infrastructure can be optional, especially when potholes, sludge, and rain take centre stage.
The monsoon exposes that proper planning is still just a concept, not a practice. “GHMC needs to wake up and find a permanent solution. Short-term fixes wash away with the first rain,” said a commuter.