Tired of government apathy, a group of citizens took matters into their own hands and decided to repair a stretch of damaged road in Hyderabad’s Marredpally area by themselves on Sunday evening.
The locals went one step further and dubbed it the ‘KTR-Ivanka Trump Road’ referring to Telangana Municipal Minister KT Rama Rao and US President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump.
It was in November last year that large parts of Hyderabad and Cyberabad got a facelift for the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ivanka Trump. At the time, several residents from Secunderabad had protested against bad roads in the area, alleging that roads that Ivanka Trump wasn’t visiting were not being renovated.
Other city residents took to Twitter at the time asking Ivanka to visit the city frequently, so that the roads were maintained well.
At the same time, 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 Roads, holding placards that read ‘Mrs Ivanka Trump, please come to this road’.
With no results even months after the protest, the locals decided to repair the road themselves.
“Last year when only few roads were beautified, we requested Ivanka Trump to visit Marredpally so that the government would repair our roads. Neither did Ivanka Trump come nor did the government repair our road. So we got onto the streets, pulled our sleeves up and attempted to repair it,” Krishank posted on Facebook.
Speaking to TNM, Krishank said, “The response was great as a few people came up to us and asked if they could join us as well.”
A few photos of the event were also posted on a Facebook group called ‘Marredpally days’ and received a lot of positive responses.
“This is really appreciated. I take that road almost every day and that pothole is treacherous for two wheelers and smaller cars,” one user wrote.
“Proud of the residents who took the initiative. Looks like this is the only way we can set right things in the colony,” another user added.
Many criticised the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) for failing to repair the roads despite repeated complaints.
Others asked the protesters to call them the next time, so they could also join in and help.