Mercer's Survey has overlooked public toilets, railway stations in Hyderabad

The recently published Mercer’s Quality of Living Report 2015 shows Hyderabad as the best city in India to live in. Mercer points out health facilities, recreation facilities, international schools, public services, Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, medical care and natural environment etc attribute to its best Indian city status. Mercer’s Report is in sharp contrast to the recent survey on Hyderabad by various agencies.

Recently the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board has reportedly found the air in Hyderabad is not fit to breathe. Apart from heavy dust particles and fossil fuel residue, the air carries the carcinogenic agents namely benzene 8.4 mg per cubic metre. Experts at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) have reportedly said the Hyderabad city is now faced with a 'multi-pollutant crisis' that needs to be dealt with both urgently and meticulously. Nearly 47% of the city's air pollution occurs due to vehicular traffic that has been on a consistent rise over the past few years. There are hundreds of vehicles with Pollution certificates which leave behind mass of dark smoke much to the surprise of the Hyderabadis. The authority has to look at the dark smoke from the vehicles instead of checking pollution certificates.

According to the ground-water department of Telangana, the water table in Hyderabad has down to all time low in February 2015 due to excess bore wells and construction activities. Housing colonies in Hyderabad have already started buying water for consumption in February month. The summer months will be far harsher than the previous years. Scientists at the premier National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) have reportedly said ground water in Hyderabad is declining at such a rapid pace that in three years the city will be almost bone dry. "History shows us civilizations have vanished once water is also gone. Water carries people and we need to wake up now and do something before it is too late," Mrinal Kanti Sen, director of NGRI reportedly said. Hyderabadis are mute witness to the disastrous after sale services of different companies. Phone will keep ringing nobody would lift. They respond in harsh tone as if they have purchased the items. They sweet talk to sale the products. When they get the payment they close all their doors for communication. Mercer survey has excluded this important aspect which gives anxiety to people.

An accurate survey report on city always helps the city planners to spend tax payers’ money judiciously. Survey reports with hard facts always help improve the living condition of people. Any bogus report on urban center leads to huge fund leakage, money laundering, poor planning and demotivation of people. A poor report gives misery to people and continues to be a stumbling block before infrastructure development. Active media in the developed nations test check any report on society, economy and policies. In developing nations bogus survey report pushes the economy into coma stage. Mercer’s survey should have examined the infrastructure utility for the general public, air and water quality of Hyderabad which could have helped 1.2 crore Hyderabadis to improve their quality of life. The benefit of international schools goes to a miniscule percentage of people and a large majority face a kind of exclusion in education field. The number of coaching centers is mushrooming but the quality of coaching is deteriorating in many centers due to lack of good teachers. A miniscule percentage of people in the city travel by air. Mercer’s survey has not examined the public toilets in the city hospitals, rail stations and bus stops.

The city’s poor quality of life also attributes to disappearance of human development subjects from school syllabus. The state board schools focus on science and math only. Subjects like English, history, social science, literature, geography and Art are totally ignored. Only science and math cannot groom good human beings. There is an urgent need to teach CBSE syllabus to children so that the children could grow into good human beings and build an ideal city. People of Hyderabad should get a mirror image of the city for their own development. They should decide what is good for them and their decision should be executed by their political representatives - the Jan Sevaks.

By Sudhansu R Das