Woman sits on pothole to protest bad roads in Nagole

Hyderabad : The recent spell of heavy rain left several roads battered, causing frustration among residents and commuters after getting vexed with the conditions. Frustrated over bad roads and stagnant water, on Thursday, a woman, as a mark of protest, sat in a pool of stagnant muddy water on a damaged road in Anand Nagar in Nagole. She stated that her kids fell due to a pothole. Along with other residents, she held a placard ‘We Want Safe Roads’ protested against the civic body and demanded safer roads.

On the Nagole-Uppal stretch a large crater-sized pothole was formed. The battered roads and waterlogging have been causing traffic jams and health problems for both commuters and residents. According to residents, following several complaints to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, whose officials remain deaf, the frustrated residents of Anand Nagar protested. In a viral video, a woman, Niharika of the colony, resorted to a sit-in in a pothole filled with muddy water.

She was heard saying other people should also come and sit on a protest and highlight the civic body’s failure. Some locals joined her later. The protestors emphasised the need for better roads, as those on which they stood on were severely damaged and filled with muddy water after the recent rain.

Niharika said “My kids fell due to the pothole. There are more than 30 potholes on the stretch. When spoken to the local corporator replied the budget was sanctioned and due to election code it was pending.”

The photo and videos of the woman’s protest against the civic authorities for not fixing potholes went viral. Traffic police stood watching her. Responding to the protest, the GHMC alerted the AE of Hayathnagar and the monsoon emergency team to address the stagnation and clear the area.

A flyover is under construction in the area, which is progressing at a snail’s pace, due to which the busy road underneath that connecting Uppal Crossroads and Medipally turned into a nightmare for commuters, locals and hawkers.

After her videos went viral on social media, several netizens also started sharing the bad condition of roads in their areas. Mohammed Ahmed of Bahadurpura, shared a photo of the main road. He posted “The Bahadurpura main road is completely blocked due to accumulation of sewage. It is causing much inconvenience to motorists in the locality,” he posted.

Another netizen posted a photo saying, “this is at Chandanagar, not sure how bad this will be with the monsoon approaching,” said Krishna Sarath.