Even as large parts of Hyderabad and Cyberabad get a face-lift for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump's visit, the infrastructure in the twin city of Secunderabad experienced no such changes.
Taking to the streets with this sentiment, several residents from Secunderabad protested against bad roads in the area, alleging that roads that Ivanka Trump isn't visiting, have not been renovated.
Choosing to protest in a different way, residents along with members of the Congress party, took out a rally and requested Ivanka Trump to visit their road.
Around 50 residents, led by Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) official spokesperson M Krishank staged a protest on the road beside St Johns Junior college at Sangeeth cross road, holding placards which read, "Mrs Ivanka Trump, please come to this road."
Speaking to TNM, Krishank said that the existing TRS government was indulging in a mere whitewash and was least interested to work for the people. He also claimed that patchwork was being carried out only where VIPs were expected to move, and the other roads were totally ignored, leaving the citizens in trouble.
Hyderabad is notorious for its crumbling roads, and Ivanka's visit seems to be helping out, at least for those who stay near HITEX and other areas near the venue of the event.
According to reports, pavements have been fixed, new trees have been planted and cement benches have been given a fresh coat of paint at Begumpet Airport Road, Jubilee Hills Check Post, Cyber Towers, HITEX and HICC, so that they glow at night. This is the path that several delegates are expected to take.
This has not gone unnoticed by the city's residents, who have been taking to Twitter, asking Ivanka to visit the city frequently, so the roads are maintained.
However, when TNM contacted the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), they denied the allegations.
"That is not true at all. In fact, the government has spent a lot of money on the roads in areas where Ivanka Trump is not scheduled to visit," Mohammed Ziauddin, GHMC Chief Engineer (Maintenance) said.
He also dismissed the allegations as "baseless".
Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development, KT Rama Rao, also earlier refuted the allegations, while speaking at an event, saying “We have the 10k on November 26. Then we have the GES. Everybody is thinking that we are laying the roads only for Ivanka Trump. That’s not true. It was a part of our normal work. We start the work after monsoons. We also have our citizens to take care of. Yes, of course, when we have visitors coming to Hyderabad we normally tend to put up our best.”
The Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES), to be held at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC), will bring together 1,200 entrepreneurs, investors and ecosystem supporters for two-and-half days of training and mentoring sessions, networking and investment matchmaking. The two-day summit will start on November 28.