A brand new tourist attraction in Hyderabad has been defaced and damaged, thanks to our dismal civic sense. The red-and-white installation is now covered with dirty foot-prints, and paint is already peeling from the structure, which was installed just four months ago at Tank Bund.
Guards say, groups of youngsters climb the installation at night to take selfies. Many of them are drunk, and pick fights with the guards when they try to stop them.
“The visitors never listen to us. They are rude if we try to stop them and pick fights,” says Das, one of the security guards.
In fact, the selfie-enthusiasts who frequent the spot have not just irked the guards on duty, but also the traffic police officials stationed in the area.
“The visitors take U-turns on the road right in front of the structure, park the vehicle right there. Visitors have been told to park on the opposite side of the road, but they refuse to listen, and part right in front of the structure, crowding the road,” says Shiv Prasad, a traffic police official on duty.
So what are the officials in charge of maintaining the structure doing?
“A month back, some authorities from Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) came here and inspected it. They repainted the structure a few weeks ago. But the paint is peeling off already, and visitors have once again scribbled names on it,” said Mohammad Ismail, one of the security guards.
The volume of visitors also increases over the weekends, and during the festive seasons, making it almost impossible for the security guards on duty to keep an eye on everyone.