Ever sensitive, forever messy

GHMC, take note 9

The approaching years for political parties of the Chandrayangutta Constituency appear to be significant; for locals are seeking a public representative who will deliver services without any communal bias
Constituency: Chandrayangutta
Voters’ profile
The constituency has nearly 2.34 lakh voters in its seven divisions—Barkas has 37,743 voters, Chandrayangutta has 13,235 voters, Uppuguda has 24,378 voters, Riyasat Nagar has 32,585 voters, Lalitha Nagar has 27,179 voters, Janagmet has 28,446 voters and Rein Bazar has 40,107 voters

The locals in all the seven divisions of the Chandrayangutta Constituency have condemned the communal bias in the area, which is rampant for a long time now.

The Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), a Muslim dominated political party has its strong roots in the Constituency and has been ruling in all the divisions from many years.

Several residents of Arundhati Colony in Uppuguda informed that all the former Corporators have developed only the Muslim dominated colonies and left the other colonies unattended.

A strong Hindu devotee, who owns a temple in their colony, Y Srinivas said, “The Corporators have shown bias in doing their services. The Moinbagh and Rakshapuram areas received attention as Muslim residents stays there in large numbers.”

The residents said that construction of the bridge above the nala, which passes from their colony, is pending from the past six months. “We submitted requests to complete the work nearly two years ago but, the Corporator has not attended the matter,” they wailed.

Grave condition of graveyards

Graveyards in the division require immediate municipal attention. A resident Saleem, who resides near the Barkas graveyard, said, “There are no streetlights, water facility or any compound wall for the graveyard. Conducting a death ceremony here is very difficult.

However, the GHMC had constructed a compound wall in many of the graveyards but, civic facility was never reviewed. According to the residents most of the graveyards have already been encroached by slum dwellers.

The graveyard of Lalitha Bagh, which carries death ceremonies for Hindus, is in worse condition; it is being used by the Corporation for dumping wastes.

Polluted drinking water

Locals complain of polluted drinking water from service pipelines in all the divisions. A senior citizen Rangaiah, who runs a grocery shop in Santosh Nagar, said that they get water every alternate day and most of the time it is polluted with solids. “We informed the Corportor many times but, he has not acted positively,” he said.

When contacted, officials of the metropolitan water works clarified saying, “Water is drawn illegally by residents, which is why waste enters into it.”
The residents of Chandrayangutta, Uppuguda, Rein Bazar and Lalitha Bagh are also suffering with a similar issue.

Public transport issues

Narrow, congested roads in the area have rendered it difficult for buses to move. Consequently, locals are left with the only feasible option, albeit a little heavy on the pocket—the MMTS. However, the TSRTC is running mini bus series in the division.

A resident of Riyasat Nagar and a local party worker, Raju said that women in the area face a lot of trouble when it comes to travelling. The residents have bus routes only to Charminar and Koti directly; travelling to other areas is a hassle involving more than two buses.

When contact, the ex-Corporator said that the situation before his course time was much terrible. “I somehow managed to bring sufficient bus services,” he commented.

Poor civic amenities

The lack of basic facilities in government schools and hospitals has been troubling residents in Lalitha Bagh and Riyasat Nagar. Residents in Barkas said that the students in the Government Girls School have no proper lighting in classrooms and the condition of toilets is poor. “The school management shows no interest in addressing these issues properly,” they said.

Similarly, civic amenities in library are pathetic. A local visiting the Barkas Municipal Library said that there is no proper drinking water facility in the library, in addition to the shoddy working condition of fans and lights. When contacted, ex-Corporators of all seven divisions have mutually refused to comment on any of their works.