Residents of Patrika Nagar, situated close to Hyderabad’s posh Hitec City, are a worried lot as overflowing sewage from near the Ibis Hotel stagnates in their locality almost every day, plaguing them with several issues.
“The condition of the road has been terrible for years now, and on top of that sewage flows out on to the road at least once a week. Besides the awful smell, the area sees a lot of traffic snarls as many vehicles use it as a shortcut to bypass the Cyber Towers signal,” says Abdul, who works at a hotel nearby.
“Bikers often slip, and sometimes even fall, as it is difficult to tell if there is any pothole under the stagnant water. It is also not feasible to try to walk on the road,” he adds.
Locals complain that many vehicles splash muddy sewage water as they traverse the road, leaving pedestrians with stained clothes.
The well-known Maxcure Hospitals is situated on this road and a pool of sewage water has accumulated outside the building as well, spelling trouble for patients and their families alike.
Due to the influx of patients to the hospital, many lodges have cropped up in adjacent lanes, where the road is just as bad.
“I have come here from Medak district because my family member has a heart problem. We stayed at a nearby lodge last night and it was very difficult to cross the pool of sewage and get the patient admitted to the hospital,” says Srinivas, as he waits outside the hospital.
“The drain leaks at least two times a week and it is driving away many customers. No one wants to stop here and buy something when this smell is there in the air,” rues a local shopkeeper.
Ironically, just adjacent to the pool is a foundation stone, inaugurated on March 24, which states that the Telangana government and the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) is laying a Cement Concrete (CC) road along the stretch at the cost of Rs 153 lakh.
Transport Minister Mahender Reddy, Hyderabad Mayor Bonthu Rammohan, MP Vishweshwar Reddy, GHMC Commissioner Janardhan Reddy and Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) Minister KT Rama Rao were among the ‘Guests of Honour’, according to the inscription on the stone.
However, work on the road is evidently yet to begin.
Another project to remodel the existing drain pipelines at a cost of Rs 100 lakh was also inaugurated.
Repeated calls to Kondapur GHMC Corporator, Shaik Hameed, to enquire about the progress of the project, went unanswered.