Unwanted spending of funds by Corporators

Residents complain that expenses by the Corporators were done blindly without considering the usage of the civic facilities by the people. In addition, gambling is rampant and is supported by political leaders

Constituency: Sanathnagar
Voters’ profile: The constituency has about 1.28 lakhs voters from the five divisions that include Sanathnagar with 22,010 voters, Ameerpet with 24,644 voters, Erragadda with 38,283 voters and Vengal Rao Nagar with 45,297 voters

The residents of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) divisions in Sanathnagar Constituency are aggrieved over lack of accountability of the Corporators in providing civic facilities.

Most of the residents complained that expenses were done blindly without taking the locals’ opinion or suggestions or even considering the usage of the civic facilities by the people.

The constituency is a known hub for educational institutes, which attracts over a thousand visitors every day. In addition, most the important government establishments, such as the Government Chest Hospital, Institute of Mental Health (Erragadda hospital), Institute of Family and Health Welfare and Food Corporation of India are also situated here.
Useless footpaths

Most of the footpaths and other civic facilities have remained unused as a result of poor study before their construction. The locals informed that most of the footpaths were unnecessarily made. “Pedestrians hardly walk in these areas. The footpaths are either being used for vehicle parking or by the roadside hawkers,” said residents of SR Nagar and Erragadda and Maithrivanam.

A private employee and a local from Vengal Rao Nagar, Manoj Kumar said, “The indiscriminate construction of the footpath here has led to encroachment and other issues.”

Poor roads
In spite of frequent repairs, residents are upset with the condition of colony roads. A retired government employee and resident of Vengal Rao Nagar, Srinivas Rao said that the interior colony roads in the division are in very terrible condition. He said that they have requested the local Corporator to fix the problem long back but, they have got no positive response.

“During the night, commuters face a lot of trouble,” he informed. Many of the colony roads in the area are damaged because of pipeline works, which were undertaken about a year ago. The situation on the stretch between SR Nagar police station and the SR Crossroads has several potholes and is the major reason for accidents occurring on the stretch.

The situation of roads in Erragadda colonies is nothing different. When contacted, the ex-Corporator was found clueless about the situation and said that the roads were well-maintained during his course time. The residents in colonies of SR Nagar, Siddharath Nagar and Vengal Rao Nagar have complained that several of the roads in their area were dug for various civic works but, not been repaired again.

Unhygienic eateries
The area is home to bachelors, students and working professionals, who do not have access to home-cooked meals; the issue of open eateries in this area has become a cause of concern. A local civic worker and resident of SR Nagar, Sushma said that she has seen several students hospitalised due to eating unhygienic food.

Further, she said that they requested the Corporator and municipal official to attend to the issue and take strong action on such eateries but, no action has been initiated. In addition, the issue of non licensed eateries is prevailing from a long time, which is also left unattended due to “several reasons”.
When contacted, the ex-Corporator M Venkata Ramana said that he had addressed the issue during his time and removed several eateries about which he had received complaints.

Illegal money games
The residents in Erragadda complained that a lot of youths in their area indulge in illegal games and gambling for money.
A resident of the area, on condition of anonymity, said, “Several illegal game zones are running with the influence of political leaders.”

When contacted, the police officials were clueless about the issue and denied about any such activities.

Miscellaneous issues
Apart from the long pending issues, the residents have been struggling for their several unattended general grievances from a long time. The grievances of the residents are majorly on poor condition of roads, water scarcity, ill-maintained parks, civic buildings and health and sanitation related issues.

The non-functioning of streetlights has been another issue troubling the locals from a long time. The slum dwellers beside the Krishnakanth Park said that the streetlights on the stretch are always in need of repair. When contacted, the former Corporators were reluctant to give their opinion on the issues.